Roscoe Loren Hawks

With great sadness we announce the passing of Roscoe Loren Hawks on Sunday, September 6, 2015 in Cortez, CO. RL was born in 1920 in Brownwood, MO; the fifth of eight children of Loren and Laura Hawks. He spent his early boyhood on the family farm, and his teenage years in Cape Girardeau, MO. Like many of his generation, he joined the US Navy in 1942, serving as Petty Officer 3rd Class in the 60th Construction Battalion (a.k.a. the Seabees). He was stationed in Australia, and on Woodlark, Biak, and Finschhafen Islands, and was on Okinawa when the war ended. He saw more tragedy than some, but much less than others. He spoke very little of his experiences in the South Pacific. In 1952 he met and married Joy Ann Timms in Wichita, KS. From 1954 to 1957 he worked in San Diego, CA as a walking mailman. He operated a small printing business in the evenings. Returning his growing family to Wichita, he joined his father and brother in running the family pest control business until selling his interest in 1977, when he moved to the Durango area. In 1980 he founded Hermosa Cablevision and provided television services to the Animas Valley until 2004. Retiring at age 84, he and Joy moved to Cortez, where he lived until his death at age 95. Although lacking in formal education, he was quite well-read and was a life-long Amateur Radio operator. He was a devoted fan of the Metropolitan Opera, and was expert at growing tomatoes. (Let us know if you want any.) He is pre-deceased by his wife, Joy, in 2012, and by his sisters Jean, Clytia, Margie, and Jan, as well as brothers Ulen and Fleming. Also preceding him in death were his good friends Bill Gerhardt, Deward Severensen, and Babe Lowry of Cape Girardeau, and Jim Glynn and John Eichar of Las Vegas and Durango, respectively. He is survived by his brother Bill, niece Patsy Schisler and nephew Jerry May and other nieces and nephews too numerous to mention. He is also survived by daughter Pamela Unrau, her husband Bill and by daughter Kimberly Domino Hawks, and by his four sons Stephen, Tim, Doug, and Randall, and daughters-in-law Marie, Janet, and Fran Hawks. Also surviving are granddaughter Skyler Roscoe and grandson Rudy Unrau. He was a good, decent, generous, and gentle man who frequently said that he'd rather feed three boys that were hungry than one boy that wasn't--especially if he didn't have to cook. His was a life well-lived. We honor his spirit, and hope to be remembered as he will be. He will be greatly missed by his family. Memorial contributions may be made to Western Slope Honor Flight, a worthy organization that escorts veterans at no cost to the war memorials in Washington, DC.