Clifton Harvey Hawley, III, went to be with our Lord on May 2, 2018. He was born in Savannah, Georgia to his parents, Martha Setzer Hawley and Clifton Hawley, Jr., who predeceased him. When Clifton was nine, the family moved to Atlanta, where Clifton made lifetime friendships and distinguished himself academically.
Clifton was recognized for many accomplishments while at Dykes High School, including earning the Atlanta Journal Leadership Cup and being elected student body president. At Princeton University he was a member of his beloved Ivy Club where he formed bonds that would last a lifetime before eventually graduating from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Business Administration. He later received his MBA from Georgia State University.
Clifton’s avid interest in sports included co-founding the Atlanta Rugby Club, being co-captain of the Dykes football team, and his joy and nemesis—golf. Clifton brought joy and laughter to any event he was part of. He had a particular love for his friends, card partners, and golf partners at Ansley Golf Club. He was a legendary joke teller and diehard UGA athletics fan.
Clifton’s first position out of college as an analyst for Delta Airlines led him to be part of a small team that designed the first nonsmoking sections, an innovative idea in 1970. He then began a long and exciting career in commercial real estate, first with his friend and mentor Tom Cousins and later with Watkins Industries. He established his commercial brokerage firm, FirstSouth Realty, in 1989. He was part of the sales or development of multiple Publix stores, truck terminals, a Varsity, and many other visible projects. He was recognized by his peers for the forethought he showed in always insisting on having water rights included in the language of every sale of property before that county’s explosive growth. Later he was instrumental in the sales and go to market strategy for Integrated Orbital Implants, an innovative medical device company. Clifton was a member of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Roswell, Georgia, where he actively participated in the Hispanic Outreach Ministry.
Clifton is survived by his adored wife, Loretta Cecil; his son, Houston Hawley of Atlanta; his stepson Chris Fadely of Austin; his stepdaughter, Helen Virginia “JJ” Fadely of Atlanta; his stepson Lewis Fadely of Siler City, North Carolina along with Lewis’s daughters Morgan Fadely and Jennah Fadely; his beloved sister Vicki Perry and her husband, Art Perry of San Diego, and their children Paige Pennock (Andy) of San Diego, Phillip Perry (Katy) of Austin, and Blake Perry (Shawmonee) of San Diego and their families; and sister-in-law Martha Cecil of John’s Creek. He considered Mary Thomas a second mother and continued to turn to her for loving counsel until he died.
Clifton had a larger than life personality, a fierce loyalty to the people he loved, and a zest for living that blessed everyone who knew him. He will be missed by family and friends alike because he was one of a kind.
Memorial donations may be made to St. David’s Episcopal Church Hispanic Outreach Ministry. A visitation will take place from 6-9 PM on May 10 at HM Patterson & Son, 4550 Peachtree Rd., Atlanta. The funeral will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at 11 AM at St. David’s at 1015 Old Roswell Road, Roswell.
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