Jennie Elizabeth Strother Hawkins

A celebration of the life of Jennie Elizabeth Strother Hawkins, 89, was held Wednesday morning, April 28, 2010, at the chapel of Lord and Stephens, East. Interment in Oconee Hill Cemetery preceded the celebration. She died Sunday, April 25, at her home in Arnoldsville.
Mrs. Hawkins was born in Wilkes County, the daughter of the late George Frederick Strother and Jennie Loflin Strother. She grew up in Washington and moved with her family to Athens in 1938. She was a 1942 graduate of the University of Georgia. Following her marriage to Dillard Hawkins in June, they left for duty with the Army Air Corps. Upon returning from the war, they made their home on his family farm at Cherokee Corners near Arnoldsville. She was a lifelong active member of the Methodist Church and taught the first grade in the Oglethorpe County School System until her retirement. She was active with the Salvation Army Auxiliary, and the Red Cross volunteers at Athens Regional Medical Center. She was a member of Historic Oglethorpe County.
Survivors include her husband, James Dillard Hawkins of Arnoldsville; three children, James Dillard Hawkins Jr. of Athens, Mary Elizabeth Hawkins Nouri of Arnoldsville, and William Richard Hawkins and his wife Susan Leverett Hawkins of Snellville; two grandchildren, William Russell Hawkins and his wife Beth Lott Hawkins, of Atlanta, and Elizabeth Jennings Hawkins of Atlanta.
Memorials may be made to the Methodist Children’s Home in Decatur or the Salvation Army.

Rodney D. Eaton Jr.

A memorial service for Rodney D. Eaton Jr., 67, of Washington will be held at the Washington Presbyterian Church at 11 a.m. Friday, April 30, 2010, with a celebration of life at his home following the service. He died Monday, April 26, at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital in Augusta.
Mr. Eaton was the eldest son of the late Annie and Rodney D. Eaton of Ridgefield, Connecticut, where he was born and reared along with four other siblings. Before coming to Washington-Wilkes in 1980, he was working in Atlanta in the Architectural Department of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He met his wife Pamela in Atlanta and they began their lives together in the neighborhood of Inman Park where they were not only restoring an old house but revitalizing with others the whole neighborhood. After moving to Washington with Pamela and son Ulysses to restore another old home, he also became involved in the community and was responsible for getting the Fitzpatrick Hotel along with The Square listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He was also instrumental in starting the Main Street Program and Downtown Development Authority in Washington. For the past 20 years he had been a rural mail carrier in Taliaferro County where he had many beloved customers and friends.
Survivors include his wife, Pamela Eaton; daughter Mistyc; son, Ulysses; five grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.
Hopkins Funeral Home of Washington is in charge of arrangements.