Obituary of Robert Royal Hawkins
Robert Royal Hawkins, beloved husband, father and grandpa, passed away on August 18th, 2021 at the age of eighty-seven in Chico, California. He is survived by his wife of almost 62 years, Yvonne Mary (Lechlinski) Hawkins; his seven children: Robert William Hawkins, Edward Royal Hawkins (deceased), Joseph Michael Hawkins, John Anthony Hawkins, Timothy Gerard Hawkins, Thomas Francis Hawkins and MaryRose Hawkins Lovgren; and his twelve grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Known to many as “Bob,” he was born on January 11th, 1934 in Spokane, Washington to Agnes (Le Quime) Hawkins and Edward Royal Hawkins. He had nine siblings of whom he was very fond. Robert’s own father passed away on Christmas Day when he was only eleven. This event made a huge impression on him as they were very close. His mother told him that in times such as these you just have to “put your finger under your chin and push it up.”
When Robert was fourteen, he left home to study at Saint Anthony’s Franciscan Seminary in Santa Barbara and then as Novice “Frater Cronan” at Mission San Miguel. He shared his experiences living at these two Missions to his grandson’s classes when they learned about California History. Sometimes children asked him if he knew Father Junipero Serra. He said he didn’t, but would have liked to.
When he was twenty-one he began basic training in Fort Ord, California and attended Army Intelligence School in Fort Hollabird, Maryland. He then served in the U.S. Army working in counter-intelligence in Stuttgart, Germany. He liked to tell of a time when he visited East Berlin. While his train was stopped at a checkpoint, he offered a cigarette to one of the guards through the train window and said, “Lucky Stroika?” The guard gladly took it.
Career-wise, he was most proud of his thirty-one years of service to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department from 1958 to 1989, starting as a Deputy Sheriff, then as an instructor at the shooting range, and later working as a Firearm Examiner in the Scientific Services Bureau. He loved working in the Crime Lab and was elected in 1994 as President for AFTE, the Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners. He worked on several famous cases including the “Night Stalker” and “Domino Pizza” cases and testified as an expert over 300 times. (He even has a courtroom sketch of him testifying in court.) He continued to work after retirement, eventually turning a room in his home in Chico into a certified Crime Lab. He finally “officially” retired at 79 years of age.
He met the love of his life, Yvonne Mary, while they both were in the Third Order of Saint Francis. They married August 29th, 1959 at Our Lady of Loretto Church in Los Angeles and have been married almost 62 years. They were rarely apart and expressed their love to each other every single day. Family members were used to hearing them sing songs together while Yvonne played the piano.
Robert enjoyed traveling and taking road trips. Some of the family favorites were Yosemite, Hawaii and the Grand Canyon. In retirement, he visited many countries with his wife, including Kenya, Italy and Russia. His favorite pastimes were exploring his family’s history, tinkering with gadgets in his garage, growing pomegranates and grapefruit, swimming every day in his pool with Yvonne and visiting the local Farmer’s Market. He always had a puzzle he was working on. He doted on his two cats, Creampuff and Peaches. He adored visits from his grandchildren.
Robert will be remembered for always telling his loved ones how much he loved them and how proud he was of them. He will be greatly, greatly missed.
