Erma L. (Collins) Hawkins

Erma Laudell Hawkins, 87, Nevada, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005, at Barone Alzheimer's Care Center in Nevada.

She was born to Ira and Alma Galvin Collins, the second of six children, on Jan. 6, 1918, near Dederick, Mo.

She attended Keck and Willow Grove Elementary Schools near Dederick and graduated from El Dorado Springs High School in 1935, In a ceremony in Chicago, Ill., in 1937, she was wed to Jerry Hale Hawkins, a union that was to last for 58 years and to include three children.

Erma and Jerry returned to Vernon County in 1940 to spend their lives engaged in farming and livestock operation. In 1945, they bought their farm in southeast Walker and lived there about 50 years.

Erma was a member of the First Christian Church of Walker and served on the Walker R-4 Board of Education. She held various leadership roles in the Walker 4-H Club in a service that spawned three decades. In 1989, Erma retired after having served as Vernon County Deputy Recorder of Deeds for 25 years since 1966.

Erma is survived by her son, Ronald W. Hawkins, Walnut, Grove, Mo.; her daughter, Carole L. Phillips, Owasso, Okla.; her sisters, Rozella Gammon, Harwood, Mo., and Bonnie Short, rural Nevada; five grandsons, John and Jerry Hawkins, both of Willard, Mo., James Loyd, Nevada, Mo., Bryan Loyd, Lampe, Mo., and Matthew Phillips, Owasso, Okla.; four great-grandchildren, Trayce, Josie, Clayton, and Judd, all of Sheldon, Mo. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jerry; her daughter, Barbara Jean, and her three brothers, Gene, Ralph, and Donald Collins.

The family receives friends from 1-2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada, Mo. Graveside services will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Mt. Vernon Cemetery, Walker, Mo.

Those who wish may contribute to the Barone Alzheimer's Care Center or to the American Cancer Society in care of Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada.

View obituary and send condolences online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com