Donnie Mozelle Hawkins

Donnie Mozelle Hawkins, 91, of Raleigh, NC passed away on Thursday, December 8th, 2022, at Falls River Assisted Living after a 2-year period of declining health. Her Son, Daughter-in-law, and Granddaughter were with her to the end (along with the fine and attentive staff at Falls River Assisted Living and ProMedica Hospice).

Donnie was born in Kinston, NC on October 13th, 1931, and was the 8th child of John Alfred Seymour and Donnie Ione (Slaughter) Hawkins. She was preceded in death by her sisters Billie, Bobbie, and Ruth; brothers John, Oliver, Earl, Randolph, and Tuck; and her daughter, Lynn. Donnie was raised on a tobacco farm along with her siblings and reveled in the adventures she had growing up with her brothers and sisters. She often commented that the adventures of the Seymour clan would have made an epic movie with stories that were comedic, adventurous, and always entertaining. After her graduation from Granger High in 1950, Mom swore she would never marry a farmer and immediately fled to the big city (Raleigh). But just before leaving Kinston in the summer of 1950, Donnie met Alex Hawkins on a blind date, and while he was a farmer, Alex opted to follow Donnie to Raleigh.

Donnie loved her new life in Raleigh and spent 2 years in a boarding house while she was dating and falling in love with Alex. She developed lifelong friendships with her girlfriends at the boarding house. When Alex proposed in early 1953 Mom excitedly accepted, and they were wed on October 17th, 1953. They were happily married for the next 53 years and lived in North Raleigh and raised their 2 children (Reid and Lynn).

Donnie was a stay-at-home Mom during the 1960’s, but as her 2 children got older, she took a job as a part time bookkeeper at the Raleigh Racquet Club in 1971. For the next 25 years Donnie was the Bookkeeper and Office Manager at the RRC, and as many who there at the time noted “she basically ran the place”. Donnie and her entire family fell in love with tennis and all things RRC. In fact, when Alex retired in 1986, he joined Donnie at the RRC, and they worked there together for the next 10 years before they both retired in 1997.

Donnie and Alex moved to Wilmington, NC in 2000 to be near their daughter Lynn, son-in-law Mike, and granddaughter Alexandra and loved their time together there. After her daughter Lynn passed away in 2004 and her husband Alex passed away in 2007, Donnie developed a strong relationship with the “gang” in Vineyard Green until she moved to Brightmore Senior Living in 2019. After a period of declining health Donnie moved to Raleigh in 2022 to be close to her son Reid and his wife Wendy.

Throughout her life Donnie was a master gardener, a lover of birds, and a fantastic cook. She loved the NC mountains and cool running streams and waterfalls and loved being in the woods surrounded by nature. Donnie treasured her sisters and brothers and missed them all greatly as the Seymour Clan slowly passed away. Donnie also developed a very close relationship with Alex’s family including his sisters Elsie, Alma, Bronell, and his brother George (Shorty) and their children. Donnie is survived by her son Reid, her daughter-in-law Wendy; her brother Joe; her sister-in-law Shirley, her granddaughter Alexandra, her grandsons Alex and Jason, and her son-in-law Mike Hewlett. Donnie is also survived by 4 great grandchildren (Alana, Sydney, Axel, and Savannah).

A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, February 4th, at Pinelawn Cemetery in Kinston, NC (Pinelawn Memorial Park in Kinston . The family will receive friends following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Macular Degeneration Research at 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg MD, 20871-1952 or contribute online at Donate to Macular Degeneration Research.