Don Hawk’s widow
passes away
Patricia Hawk,
widow of BJ retiree Don Hawk, passed away August 15, 2023 in Akron at the age of
98!
Patricia retired
at office manager of the BJ Credit Union.
Don was born in
1921 and passed away in 1984 about a week after his BJ retirement. He was in a
BJ bowling league activity when he was stricken.
Don is buried in
Glendale Cemetery in Akron. There’s a double grave marker with Don and Patricia’s
names on it. They will be together there forever when Patricia is buried on
Saturday, August 26.
When I applied
for an opening on the BJ copy desk after I was fired for union activities at
the union-hating Cox empire’s Dayton Daily News I was told that the position
had been given to Don, who was in a different BJ department.
When I showed up
for an interview anyway Ben Maidenburg decided that, since I was at the Dayton
Daily News for 13 years, that it was the Cox chain’s newspaper’s management
that was wrong and instructed managing editor Dan Warner to hire me. I wound up
as assistant State Desk editor under the late Pat Englehart, sitting alongside
assistant State Desk editor the late Harry Liggett.
Luckiest day in
my 42-year newspaper carrier. I got $25 more than the top minimum at the BJ
plus 10% in ever future pay raise given to Guild employees. And purchase of
Knight stock at 85% of market value!
Patricia Hawk’s
obituary:
Patricia
Hawk
