Evelyn Doris Hawkins, 81, a resident of Anthem, Arizona, passed away peacefully at home on November 25, 2019. She was born December 14, 1937, in Chula, Georgia, and grew up in Georgia, as the middle sister of three girls, until she moved to Liberal, Kansas in 1952 to attend high school. While attending high school, she met the love or her life, Cecil Ray Hawkins, and after attending her Junior and Senior Prom with him, and graduating in 1955, she married Cecil on June 17, 1956. They honeymooned in Colorado Springs and Castle Rock, Colorado, and vowed one day to move to Colorado. After a brief move from Liberal, Kansas, back to Georgia, where they had their first child, Arla Jan Hawkins, in October, 1959, they moved to the Denver, Colorado, area in the early 1960’s, where they had their second child, Eric Ray Hawkins, in July, 1963.
They continued to live around the Denver area until 1973, when they moved to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where together, they owned and operated Hawkins Trucking and Excavating, along with a Ready-Mix Concrete Plant, and sand and gravel pits. While living in Pagosa Springs, they acquired a new family member, that being Eric’s wife, Stacy Hawkins. In 1983 they relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, and expanded their business to include heavy demolition work. They worked day-in and day-out every day together running and operating their businesses, until they both retired together in 2004.
They worked hard and played hard together. She enjoyed the times spent together riding motorcycles and snowmobiles in Colorado, or flying with Cecil in their Cessna 210 airplane, or enjoying time at various lakes on their houseboat, and ultimately touring the United States in their American Eagle Motor Home seeing the sights and catching up with friends and family. You never knew where they were going to show up next, but you did know that where one of them showed up, the other one would be there also.
For her it was all about family, and although they traveled and enjoyed many years of vacations and cruises with Jean and Joe Titus, Cecil’s late sister and brother-in-law from Arvada, Colorado, she always looked forward to returning home to Phoenix to participate in her grandchildren’s, and great-grandchildren’s lives, school activities, sporting events, or quarter midget racecar races. She was their most enthusiastic fan, and staunch supporter. She never missed a birthday or major holiday.
Her first grandson, Nicholas, was born in January, 1984, followed by 3 more grandchildren, 2 grandsons, Baine and Nathan, both in 1986, and a granddaughter, Laurin, in 1989. Her first great-grandson, Beau, was born on Cinco de Mayo in 2004, followed by a second great-grandson, Seth, in 2006, and two great-granddaughters, Ellie and Parker, in 2012 and 2014, another great-grandson, Wynston, in 2015, and a third great-granddaughter, Abby, in 2017. When Arla re-married in April, 2018, she was overjoyed to acquire not only a son-in-law, Paul Yeaton, but also another granddaughter and grandson, Jen and Chris, a grandson and granddaughter-in-law, William and Joy, 6 more great-grandchildren, Tyler, Ezra, Ashlyn, Hannah, Corbin, and William, Jr., a great-granddaughter-in-law, Mallory, and a great-great-granddaughter, Shayne. A second great-great-granddaughter, Raelyn Elise, is due to arrive in January, 2020, and although she tried to hold on until Raelyn arrived, God had another plan for her.
On September 16, 2006, 50 years and 3 months after their marriage, she lost the love of her life in a tragic drowning incident at Bartlett Lake. Since that day, she has spent her time living vicariously through Hallmark and Lifetime Movies, just waiting for the day she could join Cecil again. After waiting 13 years, 2 months, and 10 days, that day came on November 25, 2019, when she joined Cecil in heaven, and they could finally begin their “forever.” No doubt, they are together planning their next great adventure, and keeping an eye on all their treasured family members they left behind.
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