Lyle Eugene Hawkins

Dr. Lyle Eugene Hawkins, passed away September 19th, 2021 in Union Hospital. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 11, 1932, to Charles A. and Lillian Jacoby Hawkins. He was the youngest of 3 children. Lyle was an active member of Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee, First Southern Baptist Church, Terre Haute; and First Baptist Church of Terre Haute. He also was an interim pastor for several churches over the years. He has studied the Bible and Creationism for over 30 years. He worked at a local Memphis grocery store from age 11 to age 22. He graduated from Central high School in Memphis in 1951. After high school he attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, before joining the US Army in 1954. He served in Germany from 1954 to 1957. He married Elizabeth Ann “Betty” Adams in 1957, but lost her in childbirth in 1959. Their daughter survived and was cared for temporarily by his brother, Charles and his first wife. From 1959 to 1962 Lyle had a successful sales career first for IBM, then transferred to MCR until 1963. During this time, he completed his Bachelor of Science in General engineering in 1962 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He took an engineering job with McDonnell Aircraft (later known as McDonnell Douglas). When the Gemini space program ended, Lyle left McDonnell Aircraft, deciding to become a teacher with the Memphis Area Vocational and Technical Schools, so he could be a full-time parent to his daughter. He financed the completion of his undergraduate degree with his earnings and the G.I. Bill. In the fall of 1968, Lyle received a federal grant for vocational teachers to further their education, which enabled him to attend North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, full-time while working on his Master’s Degree in Vocational Technical Education, which he earned in 1970. After earning his master’s, he spent his summer vacations from teaching to earn his Doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1980, again using his earnings and the G.I. Bill to pay the way. He was hired as an Associate Professor of Electronics and Computer Technology by Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1981, where he taught until his retirement in 1997. He married Sarah Mae Tucker in 1982. They were married for 26 years before she died of cancer in 2008. He married Pamela Kay White in 2009, she survives. He was the father of five children and had several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Services are Wednesday September 29, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. at Greiner Funeral Home, 2005 North 13th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47804. Visitation will be on Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. until service time at the funeral home. Private burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee on Friday October 1, 2021. The family suggests that in lieu of flowers that contributions be made to The Education Department at University of Tennessee Knoxville or First Baptist Church of Terre Haute. Online condolences may be made at www.greinerfuneralhome.com

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