Eileen Mary Hawkins

Eileen Hawkins, who called the Conejo Valley home for more than 55 years, passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 28, 2023. She was 91. Eileen is survived by her sons Michael and John, daughter Catherine, daughters-in-law Denise and Amy, son-in-law Stuart, grandchildren David, Daniel, Makenna and Robert, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by Robert “Bob” Hawkins, her husband of 45 years when he passed in 2000.

Eileen was born in London, England in September, 1931, the youngest of eight children in a very close-knit family. Days before her ninth birthday, the German Luftwaffe began the bombing campaign that would be known as the Blitz. The memories of those times remained vivid, even into her later years, and Eileen was able to provide her children and grandchildren with first-hand oral accounts of a significant event in world history.

In 1953, Eileen met Bob Hawkins, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, who was stationed at Wethersfield AFB, northeast of London. Their year-plus romance and Bob’s marriage proposal presented Eileen with the biggest dilemma of her young life: should she move to America with the man she loved and leave behind a large and loving family at a time when transatlantic travel was expensive and exceedingly rare . . . or not?

Victor Bannister was Eileen’s father, and she was his little darling. The first few times that Bob called by the house to ask for his daughter’s hand, Victor had somehow just stepped out. He knew what was coming and wanted to put it off as long as possible. Bob won over his future father-in-law by promising to send Eileen home on holiday within two years.

The young couple settled in Bloomington, Indiana, where Bob completed his bachelor’s degree at IU. After graduation they lived briefly in Ohio, then were lured to California by a December letter from one of Bob’s Air Force buddies, who claimed to be writing while sitting on the beach on a 75-degree day.

Eileen and Bob moved with their eldest to Santa Monica in 1960, and outgrew their house with the arrival of two more children. The family was among the first residents of Westlake Village in September, 1967.

Eileen immediately immersed herself in her new community. She was active in support of her children’s extracurricular pursuits, and quickly built a wide social circle, replete with many deep and abiding friendships. Eileen was easy to like; her personality was marked by kindness, compassion, empathy and a genuine interest in the lives of others. Eileen served for more than a decade as a volunteer at the Westlake Hospital, ultimately serving as buyer for the hospital gift shop.

After the nest emptied, Eileen and Bob engaged their mutual passion for travel, visiting Australia, New Zealand and Europe on multiple occasions. They were active participants in the lives of their grandchildren, a practice Eileen continued after the death of her soulmate.

A celebration of Eileen’s life will be held on Monday, February 20 at 10 a.m, at St. Jude’s Catholic Church, 32032 Lindero Canyon Road in Westlake Village.