Deer Isle
David William Hawkins died unexpectedly on July 27, 2021, at his home in Deer Isle, while working on a sailing dinghy for his granddaughter.
David was born Dec. 7, 1945, in Greenwich, Conn., to Rev. John J. Hawkins and Jane Dudley Hawkins. He grew up in Riverside, Conn., and Harborside, Maine. He arrived in Maine by schooner at 6 months of age. His love of Maine grew from summers spent with family messing around in boats and in his father’s woodworking shop.
He attended South Kent School (Class of 1963) and later Columbia University. In 1964, he took time off from Columbia. He joined the Merchant Marine for the summer as crew aboard the cruise ship S.S. Argentina. He then joined the Navy, where he trained at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, Calif. He was a member of the Blue Jacket Choir during initial training and sang for his supper.
In 1967, David was stationed in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of North Africa as a cryptologic technician (CT3) on the U.S.S. Liberty, a lightly armed Navy technical research ship, during the onset of the Six-Day War. The Liberty was unexpectedly attacked and severely damaged by Israeli planes and torpedo boats, killing 34 and wounding 171 crew members, of which he was one. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
In September 1968, David married Sarah (Sal) McCloskey in Maine. They returned to New York City and he graduated from Columbia University in 1971. They then moved to Boston, accompanied by a pet fox, skunk and monkey.
David graduated from the New England School of Law in 1974, where he was a member of the Law Review. For three summers, he clerked for William S. Greene, Esq. in Deer Isle. David took over the legal practice in 1974 when he moved permanently to Deer Isle.
In 1975, he started work on a modern wooden house in an open field, building much of it himself.
In 1980 and 1982, David and Sal had two children, Samantha J. Hawkins and Seth D. Hawkins.
David was a founder of Shepard’s Select Properties Inc., a real estate brokerage in Deer Isle.
From 1976 to 1986, David and his former wife, Sal, were partners in “Hawkins & McCloskey, Attorneys at Law” in Deer Isle.
David married Emily Fuller Hawkins on May 27,1989. They spent over 30 years enjoying each other’s company, whether on the water or touring in the MGB – V8.
David was a quiet, shy and patient gentleman of dry humor who perfected the art of life’s simple pleasures. He sailed and raced a Leuters 16, Claret, and in later years cruised Penobscot Bay on the Emily Anne. He puttered in his woodworking shop and tinkered with the performance of various sports cars. David was an audiophile, a history buff, an avid reader, and a lover of classic British cars, stinky cheese, terrible whiskey and his wife, Emily.
He is survived by his daughter, Samantha J. Hawkins, and her daughter, Sawyer Marion Hawkins, of Mount Airy, Pa., and Little Deer Isle; his son, Seth D. Hawkins, and daughter-in-law, Claire K. Eaton, of Cape Elizabeth and Little Deer Isle; his beloved wife, Emily Fuller Hawkins, of Deer Isle; his brother, John Hawkins, and sister-in-law, Barbara Hawkins, of Tuckahoe, N.Y.; his niece, Jill Eisner, and husband, Steve Eisner, of Metuchen, N.J.; his niece, Susan Hawkins, and her husband, Thomas Moore, of Bronxville, N.Y.; grand-nephews, Jack Moore and Benjamin A. Eisner, grand-niece, Lily Moore; and former wife Sal McCloskey of Ellsworth and Scott Island, along with maternal and paternal cousins along the East Coast from New York to Florida.
A memorial gathering will be held Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, at 3 p.m. at Edgewood Farm, 40 Dunham Point Road, Deer Isle. Tribute gifts may be made to the memorial fund (gofundme.com/f/9aeh7-david-hawkins-memorial-fund) or to an organization of your choosing.