Obituary of John HAWKINS

JOHN JONES HAWKINS died at 10:17PM in Kingman, AZ on 26 Nov 2005 at the age of 81 years. He died of metastatic renal cancer. He was born to William A Hawkins, Sr and Clara Bulah (Jones) Hawkins on 01 Nov 1924 in Pasadena, CA. His father left the family and he moved with his mother and siblings to Costa Mesa, CA in 1932 and then to Santa Monica, CA in 1935. After his mother died he moved to Fawnskin, CA in 1985 and then made a final move to Kingman, AZ in 2004.John is survived by: two brothers, William A Hawkins, Jr and Robert R Hawkins; three nieces; N Kathleen Kelley, Janelle Eaton, and Jennalee Logan and three nephews; Richard W Hawkins, James M Hawkins and Richard R Hawkins along with many grandnieces and grandnephews. John was predeceased by his nephew Russell McGuire who drowned in Alaska in 1983.John had a varied and colorful career. During World War II SSgt John Hawkins was a demolitions expert with the Army Corps of Engineers from 1942 until 1945. He trained with the 529th in Texas but deployed to the European theater with the 1284th Engineer Construction Battalion shortly after the D-Day invasion. His unit then deployed to the Pacific theater after V-E Day. John also was a special effects craftsman in the movie and entertainment industry. He was an over-the-road truck driver at one point in the 1950s. He owned and operated an automobile electronics shop and he was the owner and manager of the Bulah Hawkins Doll Museum and Hospital in Santa Monica, CA. John was an expert doll repairman.Off and on between 1932-1991 John worked stunts, special effects and props on 87 movies and TV shows as well as numerous commercials. John also built boats for Walt Disney, the Mark Twain sternwheeler at Disneyland and 2 riverboats for the Davy Crockett movies. Some of the movies John designed and built special effects for were: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Apartment, Spaceballs, Electric Horseman, Raise the Titanic, Last Voyage, Around the World in 80 Days, Blue Thunder, The Addams Family, Star Trek-The Movie, and Joe Versus the Volcano. TV series that John worked props and special effects include Gold Monkey, Nightrider, Voyagers, Alice, Police Woman, and Wonder Woman.John remained a bachelor and had time to help his sister, Mary Ann Sears-Midkiff, numerous times when she was in need of support. Mary Ann died of cancer in 1993. He took care of his mother for many years, until her death in 1979.John was a surrogate father and mentor to many fatherless youth from the early 1950s until 2005, including Jay Knauer, Bob Taylor, Dave Franklin, Mike Willecke, Charles Walz, nephew Russell McGuire, Todd McKibben, Eric and Alan Bateman. He leaves a legacy of character, skill and educational development with many men who married and began families of their own.Memorial services are pending.Arrangements entrusted to Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home & Crematory.