Roll Call Tribute

Brooks Funeral Directors-Canyon obituary
1702 5th Avenue
Canyon, TX 79015
Tel: 1-806-655-2111

Dean Earl Hawkins
OCTOBER 2, 1961 ~ FEBRUARY 27, 2018 (AGE 56)

Dean Earl Hawkins of Canyon, TX, passed away on February 27, 2018 after a valiant fight against brain cancer. He was born in Groom, TX on October 2, 1961 to Glenda Lee and Jerry Milo Hawkins. He grew up in Clarendon, TX.

He was a graduate of Clarendon High School, Clarendon College, and Texas Tech University where he earned his B.S. degree in Animal Science and his M.S. in Animal Breeding (Physiology of Reproduction). He went on to earn a Ph.D in Physiology of Reproduction and Growth from Texas A&M, and completed an NIH Post-Doctoral fellowship at Colorado State University.

In 1992, he began his career as a professor in Animal Science at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM. He married Jaye Erin Bearden on July 22, 1995 and they remained in Las Cruces, NM until 2009 when he joined West Texas A&M University (WT) in Canyon, TX as the Department Head of Agricultural Sciences. In 2015, he became the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at WT.

Throughout his years, he was the recipient of many honors beginning with the Boy Scouts God and Country Award and achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. He also received the Western section, American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), Young Scientist Award. He served as a board member for the ASAS and was a reproductive consultant for several ranches in Arizona, Wyoming, Mexico, and New Mexico. He traveled widely for his work; he went to Mexico often, gave a speech in Dubai and also traveled to China.

Dean found his work at WT and NMSU very fulfilling. He was proud of all the things his students, faculty, staff and administrative teams accomplished during his tenure. Most recently, he was honored to have had a role in acquiring funding for the new WTAMU Agriculture Complex due to open in Fall of 2018. However, his most valued role as a university professor and administrator was the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students. At NMSU, Dean was advisor to 12 undergraduate student researchers, 16 graduate students and 4 Ph.D. students.

Above all, Dean valued Faith, Family and Friends. He adored his family and was always telling them how proud he was of each one of them. Raising his beautiful twin daughters with his wife, Jaye, was his greatest and most treasured personal accomplishment. He was an outstanding father and husband.

Dean was preceded in death by his father, Jerry Milo Hawkins; maternal grandparents, Pete and Opal Borden; and paternal grandparents, Spud and Vera Hawkins.

Dean is survived by his wife, Jaye Erin Hawkins; twin daughters, Hannah Bryce Hawkins and Callie Dean Hawkins; his mom Glenda Hawkins; brother, Doug Hawkins and wife, Daphne; three nephews, Brayden, Brigg and Josh Hawkins; his aunt Regina Wootten, uncle Jack Hawkins (Ann), aunt Gwen Cochran (Wendell) and several cousins.

Funeral Services for Dean will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at the First United Methodist Church in Canyon, TX. Graveside services will follow at 3:00 p.m. at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. The family will receive friends on Friday, March 2 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Education Fund FBO of the Hawkins Twins at First United Bank of Canyon, TX; the WTAMU Foundation Dean Hawkins Scholarship at WTAMU, Box 60766, Canyon, TX 79016; or the Dean Hawkins Scholarship Fund at Clarendon College, P.O. Box 968, Clarendon, TX 79226.


SERVICE DETAILS

VISITATION
Friday
March 2, 2018
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
First United Methodist Church of Canyon
1818 4th Avenue
Canyon, TX 79015

FUNERAL SERVICE
Saturday
March 3, 2018
10:00 AM
First United Methodist Church of Canyon
1818 4th Avenue
Canyon, TX 79015

GRAVESIDE SERVICE
Saturday
March 3, 2018
3:00 PM
Citizens Cemetery
Clarendon
Clarendon, TX 79226
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(Published in) Amarillo Globe-News (on) March 1, 2018

WT, community mourns passing of agriculture dean Hawkins

By ROBERT STEIN
Posted Mar 1, 2018 at 10:43 AM

Dean Hawkins, the dean of West Texas A&M University’s college of agriculture and natural sciences since 2015, died late Tuesday. He was 56.

Hawkins played key roles in the university’s renowned beef-cloning program and the development of the $48-million ag complex set to open by fall 2018.

“Dean Hawkins was a very committed member of the community on campus and in the extended Texas Panhandle community,” WT President Walter Wendler said.

“He has a long and deep history here and was very helpful to me as I got settled into the Panhandle and WT. He always extended the right hand of fellowship, and I’m going to miss him greatly.”

Hawkins was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in December 2014 and underwent surgery and treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He returned to the university in Canyon, continuing to work even after the cancer reappeared in 2017.

“Dr. Dean Hawkins was a gifted scientist, leader and communicator,” Ross Wilson, president of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, said in a statement.

“He was dedicated to the beef industry — an industry he loved — and committed his life to improving it. He was a true inspiration to all of us lucky enough to know him. He will be greatly missed. ”

WT announced Thursday that an undergraduate scholarship has been established in Hawkins’ honor. Lal K. Almas, the associate dean of the college, will serve as interim dean, Wendler said.

Dean Earl Hawkins was born in Groom on Oct. 2, 1961 to Glenda Lee and Jerry Milo Hawkins.

He grew up in Clarendon and graduated from Clarendon High School and Clarendon College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s in animal breeding from Texas Tech University.

He went on to earn a Ph.D in reproductive physiology from Texas A&M University and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University.

In 1992, Hawkins joined New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as an assistant professor. He married Jaye Erin Bearden in July 1995, and they remained in Las Cruces until 2009, when he joined WT as the department head of agricultural sciences.

Maral Marie Howell, an agriculture teacher in Missouri and 2014 graduate of WT, called Hawkins one of her most influential professors.

“It wasn’t just what Dean Hawkins taught in the classroom that impacted me, but the life lessons and guidance he gave me during my time at WT,” Howell wrote on Facebook.

Hawkins is survived by his wife, Jaye; twin daughters, Hannah and Callie; his mother, Glenda Hawkins; brother Doug Hawkins and his wife, Daphne; and several nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

“I was never promised how or when I would depart this world,” Hawkins wrote in a 2016 blog post about his cancer treatment, “but every day I do have the choice to make it a good day.”