Cornelia Frances Hawkins, Cottey College Emeritus, Dies. Cornelia F. Hawkins, long time Cottey College librarian, died July 6, 2004, in Wheaton, Illinois at the home of her son, John F. Hawkins. She was 88. Mrs. Hawkins, born Cornelia Frances Keuzenkamp, was the oldest of three daughters born to Cornelis Franciscus and Maude Lenore (Porter) Keuzenkamp. She was born January 5, 1916, in Porterville, California. Mrs. Hawkins is survived by her sister, Betty Mary Miller of Montoursville, Pennsylvania; her three sons, Frank C. Hawkins III of Germantown, Maryland; John F. Hawkins of Wheaton, Illinois; James C. Hawkins of West Falls Church, Virginia; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She was predeceased by her husband, Frank C. Hawkins, Jr., and her sister, Barbara Eva Meltzer, of LaSalle, Michigan. As a young woman, Mrs. Hawkins' life pursuits were interrupted twice by World War II: once as a student at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Belgium in 1940 and again from 1944-1946, when she stopped teaching and worked for the War Secretary, Office of Strategic Services, War Assets Administration, in Washington, D.C. In the midst of German Luftwaffe bombing, Mrs. Hawkins fled Brussels by train on May 24, 1940, bound for Bordeaux, France, a port city, only to be turned back at the French border. Fate would intervene several days later when Mrs. Hawkins and several other students commandeered a car and drove to Bordeaux, being subjected to repeated stops and searches by local police and troops. From Bordeaux, she was unable to get boat passage home and after two weeks left for Naples, Italy by train from where passenger ships were reported to still be operating. In Naples, Mrs. Hawkins befriended by an American couple working for the Salvation Army who gave her $200 for passage on the next boat leaving Italy for America. She was granted boarding on one of the final vessels leaving Europe for America, The Normandie. Mrs. Hawkins always recounted the harrowing 11 day voyage to New York during which time there was constant fear of attack by German submarines. Although World War II ended her formal music education, music was Mrs. Hawkins' enduring passion. She was an accomplished pianist and violinist. At the age of six, she studied violin at the Northern Arizona Normal School. At the age of 13, Mrs. Hawkins played with the South Dakota State College Orchestra in Brookings. She later studied violin and piano at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis, Indiana and at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Mrs. Hawkins played piano with great fervor for family and personal enjoyment until a few months before her death. Upon her return to America, Mrs. Hawkins graduated from East Carolina Teachers College in Greenville, North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in French and English in 1943. And in 1951, she earned a Master of Arts in Library Science from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, where she was Student Body President. Mrs. Hawkins was a dedicated educator, beginning her life-long commitment to helping young people by teaching high school English and French. She continued that commitment for the next 35 years, working as a librarian for the Indianapolis Public Library, Purdy High School (Missouri), School of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, Missouri), Westark Junior College (Fort Smith, Arkansas), and Cottey College. Mrs. Hawkins was Coordinator of Cottey's Blanche Skiff Ross Memorial Library for 19 years, until her retirement in 1985. Under her leadership, the library significantly expanded the quality and quantity of its holdings, and was granted and maintained formal accreditation. Mrs. Hawkins was honored by Cottey College by being granted Emerita status in 1985. In the words of then Cottey College President, Dr. Evelyn L. Milam, at the occasion of Mrs. Hawkins' retirement, "[Mrs. Hawkins'] commitment to improving the quality of the resources of the library has made her an invaluable asset to Cottey's faculty, students, and its academic program; her devotion to preserving the history of the College through the maintenance of the College's archives has guaranteed understanding of the College's growth and development; and her delight in the growth of the young people has insured her a place in the hearts of all who have worked with her." Mrs. Cornelia Frances Keuzenkamp Hawkins will be buried alongside her husband in Twin Hills Cemetery, Muncy, Pennsylvania.
