Eleanor Hawkins

Eleanor (El) Hawkins, 93, of Visalia, CA died peacefully in the early morning hours of October 17, 2022. El was born to Fred and Harriet Idtse, May 28, 1929 in Macintosh, Minnesota. She was the sixth of seven children. At an early age, the family moved to Iowa and then to Beloit, Wisconsin. El graduated from Beloit High School in 1947. From the early age of 6, El dreamed of being a nurse. She pursued this dream by enrolling in the College of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). She graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1952. While attending a psychology class at UW, El met the love of her life - Herb Hawkins.  They courted until Herb graduated and left to pursue his career in California. El and Herb reunited in 1953 when El traveled to northern California to see her brother and Herb learned of her close proximity and went to visit. They married that same year in Sacramento, CA. As a young couple, El and Herb moved often throughout California. They spent a short time in Berkeley, where El worked with the Visiting Nurses in Oakland; Porterville, where El worked as a Public Health nurse for Tulare County; Merced; Exeter; San Francisco; and Delano; before settling for 15 years in Fresno, where El worked as a School Nurse for the Clovis School District; and then the past 44 years in Visalia, where El served as the first School Nurse at Golden West High School. For several years she worked as a volunteer for the Samaritan Center Free Clinic, and the Visalia Emergency Aid. She was a member of AAUW, the Visalia Dance Club, Smooth Dancers, and Christ Lutheran Church. After Herb’s retirement from banking, they spent fifteen years working with small businesses and government ministries in developing countries. They did twenty projects in sixteen countries. They had wonderful experiences working with people from El Salvador to Turkmenistan and Kenya to Siberia and most of the countries behind the Iron Curtain. Along the way they raised three children, Steven, Linda, and David.  

El’s family will remember her as an endlessly giving, loving, supportive and “stubborn Norwegian”. She always put the needs of her family first. She was kind, honest, patient, comforting, and a great listener and multi-tasker. She had a giggle that would make you smile and a furrowed brow that would put you in your place. El was a wonderful wife, a wonderful mother, and a wonderful person.  In the words of Winston Churchill, “What can be more glorious than to be united in one’s walk through life with a being incapable of an ignoble thought”.  

El is survived in life by Herb, Linda (Tobbe) Persson, Dave (Keri) and five grandchildren, Stephanie, Tim (Jette), Jennie, Willie, Keith, her brother Fred (Fran) Idtse, and many nieces and nephews.

Please join us in celebrating El’s life on November 12th, 2022 at Christ Lutheran Church (3830 W Tulare Ave, Visalia, CA 93277) with the celebration starting at 11:00 AM followed immediately by a luncheon. In Lieu of flowers, the family asks that you give a big hug to your loved ones, help out a neighbor, and share a smile with a stranger – just as El would have done. AND/OR donate to your favorite charity or organization.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Eleanor Hawkins, please visit our floral store.