Clarence E. Hawkins
January 22, 1926 – September 21, 2024
Clarence Edward Hawkins was born January 22, 1926, in Norden, Nebraska, to William Hieatt Hawkins and Mabel Laura Heath (Bittenbender). He departed this life quietly Saturday morning, September 21, 2024, at the age of 98 years, 9 months, and 30 days, in his room at Hillcrest Shadow Lake in Papillion. Clarence grew up in rural Keya Paha County, where his father owned a Kincaid homestead. His father was in his sixties when Clarence was born. His mother was half that age. She died a week before Clarence’s third birthday. From then on, it was just Clarence and his father, living in a very rural part of Northwestern Nebraska. Dad’s father enrolled him in school at the age of four. He attended rural schools until he graduated from 8th grade. What he learned in those rural schools helped him easily complete his GED years later in Oklahoma.
Clarence served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1944–1945, spending part of that time in southern France. He explained on one of our trips to Offutt that he had received his military physical “right there, in the Base Hospital” (the long brick building next to the Parade Grounds, that we had just driven past). When he enlisted in the Army, Offutt Air Force Base was still known as Fort Crook. When he returned from active duty, Dad moved to McAlester, Oklahoma, to be near his 85-year-old father, who had moved there when Dad went overseas. He and his father stayed with the families of his brother, Elmer, and sister, Emma, in Oklahoma until his father passed away in 1950.
On December 24, 1950, Clarence married Deloris Louise Brock (daughter of Lum and Effie Brock) at First Assembly of God Church, in McAlester, Oklahoma, with Pastor, L. H. Arnold officiating. A year later, the family welcomed the first of three daughters. Dad took his family to church every Sunday, where he and his wife were regular members. They were both very involved in church activities, Sunday School classes, and church leadership.
Clarence worked at several jobs while raising his family. In his spare time, he enjoyed hunting, (especially with his bow) playing dominoes, and card games. He was a quiet man, who didn’t say much unless it was very important. He was really good at anything involving numbers which was quite helpful as his daughters worked through high school math courses, including Algebra. He might not have used the most modern methods, but the answers were always correct.
Clarence lost his home, and his wife, due to a fire in January 2006. After that, he moved to Papillion to be closer to his oldest daughter. He lived in the Monarch Villa apartments for several years before moving to Hillcrest Shadow Lake. He spent many hours playing Bingo and Dominoes with residents at both facilities.
One day, while subbing in a high school classroom, my phone rang. It rang again . . . and again. It rang 37 times, but I never heard it. I was surrounded by students, and the sound on my phone had been turned off. When class ended and I checked for messages, I knew instantly that something was terribly wrong. Dad never called unless it was an emergency. I found a quiet room and dialed his number. He answered immediately. “What’s wrong, Dad? What happened?” I was already planning what to do next. “My belt buckle, It’s broke! I can’t get dressed. I can’t go anywhere!” I breathed a sigh of relief. One more crisis averted. On the way home, I stopped at the mall and took him two new belts. My Dad, the perfectionist, wouldn’t be without a belt again.
Clarence Hawkins is survived by all three of his daughters, Donna Wroten of Papillion, Cathy (Mark) Sullivan of Florida, and Cheri Loy of Kansas; eight grandchildren: Chris (Lana) Wroten, Kim (Jim) Spieker, Tony (Jennifer) Tartaglia, Jeremy (Renee) Tartaglia, Francesca (Zach) Martin, Amanda Peek, Blake Loy, and Stephanie Loy; 16 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; other family members and friends.
Clarence was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Deloris; granddaughter, Christina Wroten; son-in-law, Larry Wroten; six brothers: Will, Francis, Elmer, and Harvey Hawkins, Theodore and Herman Bittenbender; seven sisters, Emma (Ollie) Allen, Florence (James) Bacon, Dora (Herbert) Raike, and Adelia (Ellis) Horton, Laura M. Bittenbender, and Mary E. Bittenbender Layfield, and infant sister,Hawkins.
FUNERAL SERVICES will be held Saturday, October 12, 2024, at the Brumley Mills Chapel in McAlester, Oklahoma, with VISITATION prior to the service. He will be buried in the North McAlester Cemetery, next to his wife.
In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial donations to the VFW or a local Veteran’s group.
We would like to say a special Thank You to the Hillcrest Hospice Service; both funeral homes, Heafey Hoffmann Dworak & Cutler in Omaha, and Brumley-Mills in McAlester, Oklahoma, for the coordination and services they provided; and all those at Hillcrest Shadow Lake, who have known and cared for our father.
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