Sherman Elwood Hawkins

Sherman Elwood Hawkins was born on December 13, 1922 in La Grande, and died September 29, 2025 in LaGrande at the age of 102. The second son of William Martin and Ann Etta (Halverson) Hawkins, Sherman spent the vast majority of his life happily in the Grande Ronde Valley. He attended school in Union and graduated from Union High School in 1941. After his graduation, he entered the Navy in September 1942 and served in WWII. Sherman and Mattie Hazel March met in July 1946 at the Friday night dance of the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, and married on October 22, 1946, Hazel’s 21st birthday. They spent 70 happy years together before she departed this life on June 9, the day of the Friday night dance of the 2017 Eastern Oregon Livestock Show.

Sherman farmed all of his life, but to supplement his income until the farm was sufficient, he worked at the Union Pacific Railroad as a boilermaker and also drove tow-truck wrecker for the Paul Bunyan machine shop. It was the largest wrecker between The Dalles and Boise on the old Highway 30 before the freeway was built.

In the early years, Sherman, his family and farm-hands would take their cattle-drive through Union each spring to graze on Catherine Creek. He enjoyed hunting big game and packing into the wilderness.

He served on the board of the Union Rural Fire District and the Union School Board for many years. He was a member of the Oregon Wheat League and the Union County Cattleman and was named Cattleman of the year. In 2017, he and his son, Fred went on the Honor Flight for WWII veterans to Washington D.C. where they saw all of the national monuments around the capital.

Relatives who remain include his son & daughter-in-law, Fred and Susan Hawkins of Union; grandchildren, Tyler Hawkins of Stanfield, Victoria (Hawkins) Shaver and her husband Grady of Walla Walla; two great grandchildren, Brendan Shaver and Kaitlyn Shaver.

He was preceded in death by a son Carl Hawkins, his wife Hazel, a granddaughter Candace Hawkins and recently his brother William “Bill” Hawkins.

Contributions in memory of Sherman Hawkins may be made to the Union County Museum, the Blue Mountain Humane Association or the OHSU Cancer Unit.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, October 18 at 11:00AM at Hillcrest Cemetery, 600 S. 12th Street, or if weather interrupts, at Daniels-Knopp Funeral Home, 1502 7th Street, in LaGrande, Oregon.