Franklin – Betty Atkins Hawkins, 76, went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 8, 2011. She was born December 14, 1934 in Ivor, a daughter of the late William David and Ester Joyner Atkins and was predeceased by her husband, Howard G. Hawkins, Sr., and two brothers, Edwin David Atkins and William “Bill” Atkins. Mrs. Hawkins was a 1953 graduate of Windsor High School and spent most of her career as a telephone operator for Continental Telephone Company in Franklin. She also enjoyed running one of the earliest types of computer key punch machines for several years for S. W. Rawls, Inc. in Franklin. She was a member of Reynoldson Baptist Church in Gates, NC.

Left to cherish her memory are her five children, Howard G. Hawkins, Jr. and his wife Betty Faye, Billy D. Hawkins and his wife Patricia, Bruce Hawkins and his wife Sandra, Brenda H. DeFeo and her husband John, Robert T. Hawkins, Sr. and his wife Paige; twelve grandchildren, Aaron Hawkins and his wife Brittany, Anna Hawkins, Beau Hawkins, Lindsey Hawkins Hooper and her husband David, Christopher Hawkins, Brian Vaughan, Joshua Hawkins, Andrew DeFeo, Eric DeFeo, Ashley Hawkins, Brittany Hawkins, and Robert T. Hawkins, Jr; a great-grandchild, Hayden Hooper; two sisters, Shelva A. Edwards and Dorothy A. Turner; four brothers, John W. Atkins James T. Atkins, Edgar A. Atkins, and George H. Atkins; and a host of nieces , nephews, relatives and friends whom she loved and cherished.

A service to celebrate her life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June11, 2011 at Wright Funeral Home with the Rev. Todd Higginson officiating. Interment will follow in Poplar Spring Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 pm Friday (today) at the funeral home. Donations in her memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. Condolences may be offered at www.wrightfuneralhome.org.

We will always remember your sweet smile, the laughter in your voice, and the softness in your heart. We love you Mom, and we thank God for the time that He gave us with you here on earth. You are in His loving arms now, safe and protected. Mortality has been conquered by His eternal life. To God be the Glory.