On a balmy Sunday, August 23, 1936, in New Orleans, Louisiana—that city known for celebrations—Jacqueline Marie Hawkins—née Reddix—entered this world as a healing presence and light for others. Her light shone through her generosity of spirit, her role as a stellar educator, her dedicated service to others, and her most prominent gift: she was an enchanting storyteller. Jacqueline could turn even the most mundane event into a tale that doubled listeners over with laughter one minute and provoked them to think deeply the next. Anyone who talked to her regularly can attest that they usually departed uplifted whether they had heard a humorous tale or received a moment of counsel.

Jacqueline was the youngest of five. Her parents—a master carpenter and United Methodist Church pastor, Reverend Benjamin James Reddix Jr. of New Orleans, and a homemaker, Mamie Louise Reddix, née Mott, of Notasaulga, Alabama—met at Alabama’s historic Tuskegee Institute about eleven years before her birth. In her early years, her family lived in a modest house on CambronneStreet in the Carrollton section of New Orleans. In her teens, the family resided on Audubon Street in the Gert Town section of the city in a modified shotgun house built partially by her father. Her parents nurtured their children to seek God and keep the faith, pursue education, act in love, and live with integrity. She upheld these values throughout her life.

A graduate of Cohen High School in New Orleans, Jacqueline sought and earned a Bachelor of Arts in education from Alabama A&M in 1957. She began her professional career teaching public school in Memphis, Tennessee, where she met William Joseph Hawkins. The pair married in Memphis, April 2, 1960, at the home of her eldest sister Fannie Naomi Reddix Adams and Naomi’s husband, Norwood. Their union produced two sons:William Joseph Hawkins Jr. and Marlon Reddix Hawkins.

They raised their sons on Fontaine Road in SouthMemphis where she and William Sr. were the first couple to move into the subdivision. Through their friendliness and Jacqueline’s acts of kindness, they became well-known in the community.

A dedicated educator, she worked 35 years in the Memphis-Shelby County School System spending most of those years teaching elementary school children. She earned a Master of Arts in education from the University of Memphis in 1978 and continued teaching children untilshe accepted a position mentoring other teachers.

Jacqueline remained affiliated with the United Methodists Church in Memphis from her younger years attending Centenary to her older years at Grace. Additionally, after retiring from the school system, she devoted years of service as a Church Health Center volunteer. In her own words, she heard about the Center while attending a luncheon at St. John’s United Methodist Church.

“I was especially inspired when heard about how the Center was caring for the working uninsured,” she said in an interview. Once she began volunteering, she was further impressed by the Center’s mission after she “observed the staff and how freely they give of themselves.Not only are they interested in physical health, but theyare equally interested in spiritual health.”

Jacqueline Marie Reddix Hawkins died peacefully at age 87 in the wee hours of Sunday morning, November 19, 2023, in Germantown, Tennessee. Preceding her in death are her husband, William Sr. and most of his siblings; her parents, B.J. and Mamie; her sister Fannie Naomi Reddix Adams and Naomi’s husband Norwood; two other siblings Ruth Menta Reddix and Pinkie Rowena Reddix, her sister-in-law Fannie Perkins Reddix (Roscoe) and a beloved nephew, Benjamin James Adams.

Living are her sons, William Jr. (Veronica) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Marlon of Memphis; her brother Roscoe C. Reddix Sr. of New Orleans; five loving grandchildren—Amber Marie, Daniel, Jaylon, Isaiah, and Channing; her dear brothers-in-law Michael Hawkins and Garland Hawkins (Joyce) of Memphis; her devoted godchildren Annella “Nell” Campbell Drake of Atlanta, Georgia, and Ulysses “DeeWee” Campbell of Memphis as well as nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins across the country. All mourn her passing.

The family will receive friends for a memorial service Saturday, December 2, 2023 11:00am at Grace United Methodist Church 1619 E Raines Rd, Memphis, TN 38116