Bill Hawthorne

Bill Hawthorne February 8, 1941 - March 28, 2013 Services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 2, 2013, for Bill Hawthorne, 72, at First Baptist Woodway, 121 Ritchie Road. Bill's life centered around helping other people, a person you could count on to be ready to handle most every task. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, the son of Harry Shuey and Gladys Drudge Hawthorne, he grew up in Campbell, California, and graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering from San Jose State. Bill is survived by his wife, Reita Hawthorne; son, Greg; daughter-in law, Valerie; and two grandchildren, Megan and Dillon, from San Antonio, Texas. Also, he is survived by three step-children, Anne Evans and granddaughter, Kelli, of Houston, Laurie Turman, her husband, John, and grandchildren, Taylor and Alicia, of Tyler, Kent Simpson, his wife, Georgeanna, and two grandsons, Jake and Jed, who reside in Shady Shores, Texas. From a family five siblings, Bill has one living sister, Zulieka McGuire Bartel, of Manteca, California. Bill retired from IBM after a career spanning 30 years. In 1994 in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, he opened his own Saddlery Shop. A master saddle maker, he also enjoyed sitting on a saddle and riding in the High Country near the Great Divide. He enjoyed his membership at Woodway, and became involved in teaching Wednesday discipleship classes, including the well-attended Truth Project, a study compiled by Dr. Dell Tackett. A prominent figure in the church parking lot each Sunday, in his cowboy hat and boots, he enjoyed greeting all the children, the grown-ups, and opening car doors for folks coming to church. "Have a blest day," was his signature parting. From 1996-2005, he and his wife served in Eastern Europe with the International Mission Board. Bill served the first three years as coordinator of a first-ever partnership between Romania and the South Carolina Baptist Convention. The last years of his term overseas, he and Reita moved to Budapest, Hungary, with Bill working out of the home office in Prague, Czech Republic, as statistician, identifying the various people groups. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Baptist Woodway library.