Henry Hibbs Hawke

Henry Hibbs Hawke, age 77, of Arden, North Carolina, died Saturday, February 10, 2024, at The Elizabeth House in Flat Rock, NC after a battle with cancer. Born August 3, 1946, in Prince George County, Virginia, he was a son of WWII Army Captain Nathaniel John Hawke, Jr. and Jessie Hibbs Hawke, and brother to the late Nathaniel John Hawke, III, and Susan Cole Hawke. He was a beloved grandson and namesake of Dr. Henry Horace Hibbs, Jr. the founder and first president of the former Richmond Professional Institute, now Virginia Commonwealth University, and his wife, Jessie R. Persinger Hibbs–better known to Henry and his family as “Big Papa” and “Big Mama.” In 1964, Henry graduated from Mount Lebanon High School near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he played football and gymnastics, got his first motorcycle, and hung with classmates Judy Gordon, Jimmy Dorrance, Don Schrader, Dick Wyatt, and Bill Atwood. He attended Penn State University for three years, completing his junior year as a cadet officer in ROTC before finishing his B.A. in History several years later at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1972. In 1991, he earned a Masters Degree in Applied Management from Lesley College in Boston, MA. In 2011, Henry retired from commercial truck driving with Barr-Nunn Transportation after a previous career as a material planner and software buyer at technology companies Unicom, NEC Technologies, Inc., and Q-Media Services. To the delight of his children, during his career in technology he frequently brought home samples of games including an Atari with joystick and TurboGrafx-16 console. In retirement, his love for being on the road led him to continue to drive on regional trips for his friends at Sunshine Chevrolet in Arden, NC. In addition to his work, Henry had a long career as an umpire for local Little Leagues in Rumford and Pawtucket, R.I., serving in several state tournaments over the years. Never one to keep idle, during retirement Henry spent many hours in his garage restoring his classic motorcycles (“Scarlet,” “Bonnie” and “Sporty”) and riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway, as well as cheering on the Steelers with Judy. He loved his guitars, camping with his grandsons in Yosemite, playing cornhole with his kids on a freshly-cut lawn, and taking his youngest grandson and granddaughter to the playground. Everyone who knew Henry remembers his love for spinning a yarn. A storyteller by nature, his family and friends will treasure their memories of Henry’s many tales about his days at 99 Ordale Blvd in Mount Lebanon, pledging Sigma Phi Epsilon at Penn State, the heyday of San Francisco in the late 60s, his pride for “facing the music” by accepting the consequences of resisting the draft and refusing induction, finishing his degree in Santa Barbara, and catching lobsters in Jamestown, R.I. where he settled and became a father. A meticulous keeper of records, Henry left a trove of original music and lyrics from songs he composed throughout the 1960s–1990s. He is survived by his great love, Judith Lynn Gordon Hawke, whom he married in Maui, Hawaii on December 24, 1997. Henry and Judy originally met in middle school in Mount Lebanon, PA, but their lives took them on different paths until many years later when they reconnected, spending just over twenty-six years married. Affectionately called “Pop,” he is also survived by his children from his first marriage and his beloved grandchildren: son Henry Hibbs Hawke, Jr., daughter-in-law Nancy (Wang) Hawke, and their sons Logan Hibbs Hawke and Lukas Henry Hawke of San Francisco, California; daughter Lisa Dempsey Hawke and son-in-law Cal Brouilette of New York City, New York; daughter Rebecca Mary Hawke, and daughter-in-law Trisha (Henson) Hawke and their son Oliver Dempsey Hawke and daughter Harper Marilyn Hawke. Henry is also survived by his younger brother David Allen Hawke and his wife, Phyllis Couvares, of New York City, New York, and his adored nieces Molly Katherine Cole Altizer and Samantha Anne Altizer. His departure comes as a great sorrow and it is gravely felt by his entire family and all of his friends who loved him deeply and will greatly miss him. In honoring Henry’s wishes, a memorial service will be held and he will be interred at the Oak Grove Cemetery at Lexington, VA on March 9, 2024, at 1:00 p.m., with a memorial reception to follow at the Abigail Inn at 408 South Main St Lexington, VA from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Henry’s name to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at: http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/hhh.

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Henry Hibbs Hawke

August 3, 1946 - February 10, 2024