Helen Katherine Dickerson Hawkins passed away Monday at Crestwood Hospital after a brief illness. Born Helen Katherine Dickerson in Memphis, Tennessee, she spent her early years in Memphis and graduated from high school there. She was preceded in death by her father Theodore Leo Dickerson, her mother Lois Gardner Dickerson, and her sister, Alma Lois Dickerson Goodman. She has two surviving children, Susan Madeline Hawkins Painter of Bradenton, FL and Nashville, TN and Marc Charles Hawkins. Also surviving are twin granddaughters; a niece, Margaret Crawford Murray of Huntsville, Alabama, and Judy Crawford Poarch of Fairview, Texas.
Helen was active for many years as a volunteer in the Huntsville community in local schools and in the parent organizations and as a band parent. A Master Gardner adept at raising dahlias, she helped to found the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. She was active in the Episcopal Church and served as verger there.
She imparted her love of music, reading, and travel to her children. She was generous with her time, taking in two nieces who needed a place to live and caring for them as if they were her own.
The family would like to thank Stephanie Atkinson Holland for her friendship and support to Helen over many years and to Jeanie Tauss of Caring Strategies for her invaluable assistance.
Private burial will take place in Auburn, Alabama. Memorials may be sent in her memory to Huntsville Botanical Gardens, 4747 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, Alabama 35805. Cards may be sent to Sue Painter at her Tennessee address, 567 Calibre Lane, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122.
