Reflections on a life well lived

In a word, the funeral service for Nancy Hawk was inspirational.

As her son, Chris, a Charleston surgeon who followed in the professional footsteps of his late father, put it:

"If Paul Harvey were telling this story, he might say: 'She dropped out of college, got married, had nine children (way more than was politically correct or socially acceptable) and never held a decent job.

"And now, for the rest of the story.

"When her youngest son started school she got on the stick, even starting the school for him. When he went to college, she went to law school, commuting to Columbia for three years. She became and remained one of the most influential people in her community."

Indeed, the life of Nancy Hawk is quite a story. Much has been written since her recent death about her multitude of achievements, from national Mother of the Year to one of the foremost guardians of the city where she spent most of her 86 years. Long before she went off to law school, she was involved in politics, agreeing to become a serious Republican contender for mayor after the fledgling local party previously had fielded a female "ghost candidate."

While she didn't win, she clearly was a force to be reckoned with. She proved that in all her varied and often controversial endeavors, from her successful, uphill fight decades ago to protect the Beaufain-Wentworth Street neighborhood slated to become the city terminus of the James Island Bridge, to her final cause, the creation of the American College for the Building Arts.

Her range of involvement was wide, from her Piccolo Spoleto supportive role to that of a driver for Meals-on-Wheels. As she aged, she seemed no less tireless or physically fit, which many attributed to her passion for swimming in a James Island creek. There was no hint in the amount of devotion she gave to her final cause that she was nearing the end of a long battle with cancer.

While she had many admirers, it is to her great credit that none found her more amazing than her own family. The testimonials of two of her nine children and two of her 24 grandchildren told why during the First (Scots) Presbyterian Church service Monday.

No latchkey mother, she was the chief cook and bottle washer, always there when they were growing up, serving home-cooked meals, preceded by prayer.

While the large family home at One Meeting Street is a prestigious address, there was nothing lavish about the Hawk lifestyle. She sewed clothing for her six girls and herself, including many of the gowns in which she entertained. The flowers at dinner parties were from her garden and, most often, she was her own caterer. Her children's lessons in finance included modest allowances with requirements that their checkbooks balance.

Chris Hawk gave this example of how his mother practiced what she preached after discovering Chicago's Blommer Chocolate Factory: "Mom was a true chocoholic, and also knew a bargain she couldn't pass up. ... She bought the minimum order — 500 pounds. ... She knew she couldn't take it all home, so she established a secondary market and sold it to all her friends. So there she was, in her bathing suit, shower cap, in the bathtub, shower curtain pulled, shoveling cocoa with the ice scoop into ZipLock bags, chocolate dust billowing up all around her. Sold it all, too, and was ready to buy more the next year."

What memories they have of idyllic summers on James Island that would later include all the grandchildren; those trips with all nine squeezed into a van, including one across the country, stopping at all the national parks.

By the time the grandchildren arrived, she would give each their own special trip, not to mention the time she spent listening, advising, encouraging and impressing with her love of reading, her dedication to education and her involvement in her community. And there were those treasured weekly letters that every single child and grandchild received that kept them close to the core.

Her story is an inspiring one that features an early pre-med student who became a devoted wife and mother, and her supportive husband, who considered her the most intelligent person he'd ever met and encouraged her endeavors in virtually all aspects of the community — cultural, preservation, conservation, political and religious.

The positive impact she has made, not only on her family, but her community, is cause not only for inspiration, but reflection. No one said that better than former Gov. James B. Edwards, whose tribute included an anonymous poem titled "The Dash, " a reference to that middle symbol (—) on a tombstone that denotes one's life-span, from birth to death.

Here's how that poem concludes:

"So, when your eulogy's being read

With your life's actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?"

"I know of no one, anywhere, who's spent her 'dash' more completely and successfully" than Nancy Hawk, the former governor said.

How about you?

Barbara S. Williams, editor emeritus of The Post and Courier, may be reached at bwilliams@postandcourier.com.

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