Lucile Esther Hawks passed over March 14, 2019 at the age of 101. 

She was born August 5, 1917 to Joseph M. Hawks and Gertrude Schupbach Hawks at their farm home five miles south of Hiawatha.  When Lucile was three years old the family moved to the farm in the Carson neighborhood five miles west of Hiawatha where her great grandparents, Daniel and Elizabeth Hawks settled when they came to Kansas from Maine in 1857.

Miss Hawks attended Carson School district No. 1 through eighth grade and graduated from Hiawatha High School in 1935.  Attending Kansas State College at Manhattan, she graduated in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics and Art.  In 1958, Lucile earned a Master’s Degree in Home Economics Education from Colorado State University at Fort Collins.  Throughout the years, an additional thirty hours of graduate credit was earned through summer and night classes.  The requirements for advanced work were completed every five years with educational travel.  Visiting all states in the U.S except for Hawaii and Alaska, her travels also took her to Mexico, Guatemala, Canada and four trips to Eastern and Western Europe.  Emphasis was on textile collections, paintings and architecture, as well as general sightseeing.

Lucile taught home economics at high schools in Allen, Osage City and Fredonia, Kansas before going to Kansas City, Kansas, where she taught Clothing Construction and Textiles at Center Junior High School for ten years and at Wyandotte High School for a total of thirty-nine years.

Upon retirement, Lucile returned to Hiawatha where she began, managed and created items for the Hiawatha Hospital Gift Shop for seven years.  At that point, she became a regular volunteer at the Morrill Free Public Library from 1986 until 2005.

Lucile was a member of the First United Methodist Church, a life member of the Brown County Historical Society and a member of the Ag Museum Quilters.  Other activities included raising many African violets and always a garden.  She took great pride in her yard, tea roses, and other flowers.  Lucile spent any extra time creating scrap quilts, quilting for friends and making stuffed animals for charity.

Lucile donated her collection of over 125 miniature handmade quilts to the Avenuir Museum at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.  The quilts are part of a permanent collection at CSU.  Always valuing education, she has left monetary contributions to Kansas State University for Home Economics, Engineering, in honor of her sister who was an engineer and to local vocational schools.

She is survived by cousins Bob Hawks (Jan), Tulsa, Oklahoma, Alan (Karen) Bruning, Excelsior Springs, Missouri, Helen Ruth Hawks, Hiawatha Kansas, Diane Schupbach, Westminster, Colorado, and Marilyn Schupbach of Edgewater, Colorado.  A myriad of friends are left to remember their wonderful interactions with a unique, witty lady.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sister Mary Helen Hawks.

A Celebration of Lucile’s life is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hiawatha,  Shane Spangler will officiate.  Interment will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Hiawatha.

The family will meet with friends one hour prior to services.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Morrill Free Public Library sent in care of the funeral home, 124 S 7th St., Hiawatha 66434.
www.chapeloaksfuneralhome.com

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