Beatrice Cox Hawkins

Beatrice Isadora Hawkins, lovingly known as Bea, passed away peacefully on January 12, 2025, in Winter Garden, Florida, at the age of 99.

Bea’s story is a deeply American story.

Born on December 20, 1925, in Buncombe County, North Carolina, to Carl Benjamin Coxe and Ardell Isadora Foster, Bea faced loss early in life, becoming an orphan at the age of two.

When Bea was a teenager, she moved to Suffolk, Virginia, where she married Thomas “Tommy” Axtel Hawkins. During World War II, while Tommy served in the Navy and manned landing crafts in Normandy, Bea gave birth to their first son, Thomas Carl Hawkins. Their second son, Charles Richard Hawkins, was born two years later. Together, the young parents built a life that embodied the “American Dream.”

As a child of the Great Depression, a wartime bride, and a baby-boom mother of two, Bea carried herself with resilience, grace, and optimism. In the 1960s, she worked as a model, personifying American glamour and style. In the 1970s and 1980s, she fulfilled her ambitious spirit by opening the Venus Beauty Salon in Woodbridge, Virginia. Upon retirement, Bea and Tommy moved to the Outer Banks, where Bea lived for two decades.

Bea was a loving matriarch to her family, community, and church.

At Kitty Hawk Baptist Church, Bea was known for her love of God, her joy in making everything beautiful, her devoted teaching of children in Vacation Bible School, and her generosity in helping feed those in need through the food pantry. She also became an accomplished painter, always bringing creativity and beauty to those around her.

Later in life, Bea lived in Maggie Valley, NC, Hilton Head, SC, and Winter Garden, FL. Even as she struggled with dementia in her final years, her halo of unconditional love grew ever brighter. In the last months, she was able to say a few simple things: “Thank you,” “Praise Jesus,” and “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Bea is survived by her four granddaughters: Ronda Canning of Southern Shores, NC; Cynthia Larsen of Asheville, NC; Kimberly Grant of Bristow, VA; and Sara Merrill of Richmond, VA. She is also survived by six great-grandchildren: Jessica and Nathan Canning of Southern Shores, NC; Ariel Lindeman of Marshall, NC; Tyler Merrill of Richmond, VA; and Thomas and Colin Grant of Bristow, VA.

Bea will be remembered for the incredible person she was -- her beauty, faith, strength, creativity, and unwavering love for her family and community. Her legacy is one of joy, resilience, and grace that continues to inspire everyone who knew her.

He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. --- Psalm 91