Dwain Hawkins

New Waterford - Dwain Hawkins, 92, of New Waterford passed away on Saturday, August 15, 2015 at Covington Skilled Nursing Facility after a short illness. Dwain was born October 27, 1922 on the same farm his father and grandfather were born. He was the son of John W. and Pauline Henning Hawkins. He was married to the love of his life, Martha Boyd on August 5, 1944 while home on a pass from the Army. He brought a city girl he met through his sister, Thelma, home to the family farm and they had almost 61 years of marriage. She passed away on July 4, 2005.

He leaves 4 children - Larry (Jolene) of Evansville, WI, Lynn (Charles) Garver of Kent, OH, Beth (Gary) Wisinski of Scottsdale AZ, and Patti ( Bobb Holden) Hawkins of St. Charles, MO, two sisters : Thelma Adams of Lisbon, Evelyn (Jess) Thomas of Apple Creek, OH, 6 grandchildren: Brent (Gina)Hawkins of Oregon, WI, Jason (Jennifer) Hawkins of Roselle, IL, Stephanie (David) Curb of Springfield, VA, Heather Garver of Cincinnati, Jarel Wisinski of Ontario, CA, and Stefan Wisinski of Washington DC and the world. He also leaves 6 great-grandchildren: Myk Hawkins of WI, Ashley and Alexa Hawkins of IL, Cordelia, Nicholas and Tristan Curb of VA, and 2 step-great-grandchildren: Riley and Lucy Hebl of TX and a grand dog Katie of MO. He also leaves nieces, nephews and many many cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers-in-law Don Adams and Joseph B. Boyd.

Dwain graduated from New Waterford High School in 1940. Until this past year he has met monthly with his classmates for breakfast. He attended Fenn College for one semester, but the farm boy didn't care for the big city. He then worked as a milk tester, Kenmar Furniture and at B&W before enlisting in the army. After basic training he was sent to college at Virginia Polytech and Lafayette in an attempt to keep the colleges open with so many of the men off to the military. When the program was discontinued, he was sent to a Signal Repair Company and then on to Europe. He had his orders for the Pacific Theater when VJ day occurred and he returned home. When he returned from the service, he told his father he was tired of taking orders from others and that he would stay home and farm if they purchased pedigreed cattle.

So began a distinguished career as a farmer with a well known herd of Guernsey cows. He was awarded a Gold Star Breeder award 12 of the first 13 years the award was given. Each year in August the family spent two weeks showing cows at the Columbiana and Mahoning County Fairs. As the children grew and left the farm, he made the decision to have dispersal in November 1970 and all of the cows were sold.

He then began a second career with Agri King selling nutritional supplements for farm animals. He always said when they found out he couldn't sell, they made him a manager. His region broke many records and he is in the Agri King Hall of Fame. He worked for Agri King for 19 years and retired in 1990.

With the cows gone he joined the New Waterford Lions Club in 1971, and as with anything he did, he went all out. He held many offices including District Governor in 1990-91. He attended 30 International Lions Conventions including one in Toronto at age 91. He is also a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow. He was a founding member of the 13D Eye Care Foundation. Many will remember Dwain as he visited them selling Roast Beef Dinner tickets, calendars or apples. Dwain is a lifelong member of the East Fairfield Methodist Church, a member of Columbiana Senior Citizens and Benjamin Firestone American Legion Post. He was inducted into the Crestview Hall of Fame in its inaugural class. He was a member of the Columbiana-Mahoning Guernsey Breeders Association. Meals on Wheels was another place he volunteered, delivering meals for 24 years, retiring in Dec. 2014.

Friends may call Thursday 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm, at Warrick-Kummer-Rettig Funeral Home 28 N. Main St. Columbiana, OH with Lions Services at 6:45 pm. The Funeral will be on Friday, at 11:00 am with visitation one hour before at the East Fairfield United Methodist Church. Services will be conducted by Rev. Susan Antolik. Memorials may be made to the East Fairfield United Methodist Church 45675 St. Rt. 558, New Waterford, OH or to the District 13D Melvin Jones Eye Foundation c/o John Woodside 5166 East Blvd. NW, Canton, OH 44718. Sign the register and send condolences at www.familycareservices.com