Hornell, New York

Joanne L. Hawkins – 90 – formerly of 32 East Van Scoter St., Hornell, died peacefully late Friday evening (May 30, 2025), surrounded by her loving family at Elderwood Hornell Nursing Facility in North Hornell, where she had resided for the past 3 ½ years in the memory care unit.

Born in North Hornell on January 26, 1935, she was the daughter of Alco & Louise (Gibson) Lawrow.

Joanne grew up in Hornell and was a graduate of Hornell High School (class of 1952).  While in high school, she served as a class officer, participated in many sports, her favorite being a part of the HHS Cheerleading Team which would serve her well later in life.

Following high school graduation Joanne was employed briefly as a secretary at Maple City Savings & Loan.  For over 30 years she served as a switchboard telephone operator at the former New York Telephone Company in Hornell, retiring as a supervisor.

After retirement and having a love of children, Joanne owned & operated “Grandma’s Day Care” for over 30 years, starting with her grandkids to then serve the community as a licensed & certified day care provider for local children.  She also served as a “Foster Mom” for many Hillside and Steuben County Pro-Action children along with special needs children.

Joanne was a longtime member of St. Ignatius Loyal Church (Our Lady of the Valley Parish) and a communicant of St. Ann’s Church.  She later attended St. Brendan’s Church of Almond and St. Mary’s Church of Dansville.  Joanne was a devoted follower of Christ and a spiritual guide to her children. Joanne’s father helped build the wooden pews at St. Ignatius Loyal Church. All her children were baptized in the church, attended mass regularly, religious instruction class, participated in the church choir, were altar boys and helped with church grounds. Joanne’s unwavering faith in God was shown by her daily wearing of many crosses.

Having a deep love of nature, Joanne enjoyed taking long drives around the countryside admiring God’s beauty.  She especially loved the beauty of the sunshine and sweet smell of flowers.  In her younger years, she enjoyed bowling and had been a member of several bowling leagues. She was a previous member of the Hornell Moose Lodge, Hornell VFW and the Hornell Association. She was also a dancer of the Mothers Class of John Ox Dance School.

Joanne will fondly be remembered as being dedicated to her children and grandchildren.  She could be described as a “Super Fan” and was not afraid to show her enthusiasm and cheerleading ability while watching their games. She could always be seen driving with her Red Raider gear and matching hair bows that earned her name “Grandma Bow-tie.” She was always holding up traffic honking her horn and/or sharing her goodie bag she had in her car with all of her angels. She was always the loudest fan and never missed a sporting event to cheer on her kids, grandkids, families and all of her loved ones. Although she was a lifelong super fan of Hornell, she loved to travel to Florida and Texas to stay with her kids and grandkids when she was able to.

She will be reunited in heaven with her 2 brothers, twin brother Jack (Val) Lawrow and Bill (Arlene) Lawrow; 3 sisters, Jacqueline Lawrow, Mary VanAllen and Betty (Joe) McKee; her sons-in-law, Brian Flaitz and Larry Brasher.

Surviving are her beautiful “Angels” – 3 daughters, Cathy (Greg) Rollins of Hornell, Karen (Dan) Schu of Arkport and Mary Christine Brasher of Inverness, FL; 3 sons, David (Mercedes) Stiles of Dallas, TX, Michael (Teasha) Stiles of Hornell and Richie (Brenda) Hawkins of Mesquite, TX. Also surviving is her former spouse Richard K Hawkins of Dunkirk, NY; Grandchildren, Sherri (Greg) Helmer, Samantha (Chris) Hopkins, Greg Jr (Sara) Rollins, Kevin (Kim) Rollins, Candace (Dennis) Westfall, Eric Roosa, Sara Sapalo, Mike (Bri) Stiles, Trevor (Brooke) Stiles, Josh (Ashley) Stiles, Patty Pritchard, Stephanie Dashnaw, Tyler (Haygan) Hawkins, & Lexi (Jason) Aguilar;  Great-grandchildren, Kaden, Justin, Kyle, Jake, Nolan, Noah, Ian, Emma, Sophia, Cohen, Connor, Cade, Juliet, Olivia, Ryleigh, Madison, Aniyah, Jazlynn, Mac, Parker Kate.

The family of Joanne L. Hawkins will receive friends on Monday, (June 23, 2025) from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM at the Dagon Funeral Home, 38 Church St., Hornell, NY.  A Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, (June 24, 2025) at 11:00 AM at St. Ann’s Church, 31 Erie Ave., Hornell, NY with Deacon Robert McCormick officiating.  Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Fremont, NY.

Joanne’s family request that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name be made to the Hornell Alumni Association, PO Box 135, Hornell, NY  14843.  Memorial forms will be available at the Dagon Funeral Home.

The family would like to give a very special thank you to all the wonderful caregivers and staff at the Memory Care Unit at Elderwood of Hornell.

As she would always say its not a good bye, it’s until we meet again. God Bless.

To leave an online condolence or share a memory, visit www.dagonfuneralhome.com.