Charlie Hawkins, 92, served to the end

Charlie Hawkins saw life as a gift. A good one given to him, he said, and one worth passing along to others.

Hawkins, 92, died Feb. 1. The long-time River Hills resident was a decorated veteran, an accomplished businessman, an ever-evolving plier of new trades. Kenny Ashley, who knew Hawkins 11 years before agreeing to officiate the memorial service Feb. 6, recalls a man who never stopped learning or experiencing something new.

“He lived until he died,” Ashley said. “That’s what he wanted to do.”

The grandson and great grandson of university presidents, Hawkins had his parents sign off on Army enlistment when he was 17. The Virginia native served in the 99th Reconnaissance Troop during World War II. He earned two purple hearts for injuries during the Battle of the Bulge, the first of three dozen military and civilian honors for service.

The most unusual came from Belgium, the Fourragere presented a decade ago as that nation’s top honor. The most recent came last fall.

On Veterans Day, Kay Bivens of Lake Wylie organized a flag pole dedication at Pine Grove Christian Academy. Planning was quick, because they knew Hawkins wasn’t in great health, and they wanted him there. He sold off items from his River Hills home to help purchase the pole.

“It was because of his donation,” Bivens said. “If it hadn’t been for him, it wouldn’t be there.”

Hundreds came, including five World War II veterans. State Rep. Ralph Norman awarded Hawkins a flag and honor from the Legislature.

With all of the state and federal dignitaries, war heroes, vocalists and invited speakers, the highlight for Bivens came after the formal program ended when the most excited, and surprising, person there wanted to meet a veteran and found Hawkins.

“There was a little boy there that day,” Bivens said. “He went down and spent some time talking to (Hawkins). This little boy couldn’t have been more than 9 years old. To see something like that, Charlie was in tears.”

It wasn’t just children drawn to the long-time Lake Wylie resident. Hawkins was a nonagenarian before Daniel Hopper met him. Yet even in his final years, Hawkins was making friends and swapping stories.

“Charlie was my buddy,” said Hopper, who would pick Hawkins up for church or visit with him sometimes four or five times a week. “I met him about a year ago. Our pastor went out, and I just went out to visit him at first. We really hit it off.”

Hawkins liked to talk sports, family or military service over a hot fudge sundae or milkshake. Hopper couldn’t help but think of his own father, also a WWII veteran.

“Charlie reminded me so much of my father, and my father reminded me so much of Charlie,” Hopper said. “For them it was no big deal. It’s amazing how humble that generation is.”

Hopper talks about a man who appreciated the past, but never lived in it. Hawkins took each day as a gift, an opportunity. Including the one last fall when the school raised a flag pole.

“He was beaming from ear to ear,” Hopper said. “Just the love of everybody there for him that day. He was beaming for a solid three days.”

The in-the-moment way Hawkins lived provided Ashley plenty of material prepping for the memorial service. Hawkins was president of a golf club and Charlotte sales and marketing group. He chaired the Lake Wylie Marine Commission. He served on boards at multiple churches and his community association. He was commodore at a local yacht club.

In the last decade of his life, Hawkins took pride in serving as arbiter for the South Carolina Juvenile Criminal Justice Department, where he tried to help young people turn from problematic pasts. In the last years, he began designing jewelry for the ladies at Westminster Health and Rehabilitation Center in Rock Hill, where he lived.

Hawkins even had a plan for a funeral someday. He and teenage sweetheart Beryl, married 68 years, at some point settled on “Mack the Knife” as their song. Hawkins said he wanted to “go out dancing to ‘Mack the Knife,’” Ashley said. So service plans included handmade jewelry for the ladies, and the ’50s rock standard as guests depart.

“That was an unusual request,” Ashley said.

Last spring, upon yet another military recognition, Hawkins spoke candidly on what all those years of service meant - from war to his wife to juveniles he hoped would change their ways. He learned service, and believed in it, he said. He wanted to give something back. The Lord had been good to him, Hawkins said. Which left him little choice but to pay it forward.

“I have a desire to leave the world a better place than when I got here,” Hawkins said.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Charlie Hawkins, 92, served to the end."