Max Dean Hawkins of Gladstone, Missouri, died at the North Kansas City Hospital, Oct. 20, 2023.

The only child of Reeve and Dorothy Foster Hawkins, Max was born March 26, 1931, at St. Joseph Hospital in Concordia, Kansas.

Max was a Boy Scout, earning many badges and receiving the 1945 Eisenhower Wastepaper Campaign medal. He attended Burr Oak High School where he was on the track, football and basketball teams. Max sang in the school choir where his future wife was the accompanist.

After graduating high school in 1949, Max decided to serve his country and joined the U.S. Navy. He was assigned...