Letter: The importance of family

Steven Hawkins

Family is the most fundamental part and piece of society. Strong families are the bedrock base of many communities, churches and neighborhoods all across America and the world. Family members who are close to each other could sustain themselves through trying times and hardship, and make them strong people.

My parents, Tommie and Janice Hawkins, will celebrate their 64th anniversary on Monday, Jan. 17. Through the years, as my brother Tommie has said, they both have been “devastating people” who would always come to the rescue and encourage all of us. My mother, Janice, through the years worked as an insurance agent and social worker, and my father while I was growing up worked as a janitor in the family business. My parents taught all us seven children a good work ethic, and this also was instilled in my older siblings’ children as well.

My sisters Janice Lee and Shirley at our family gatherings would tell our father, ‘”Get off the floor, Pop Pop!” Because Mama and Pop would always love to sing and dance when we were out of town, and our mother Janice was always a beautiful singer at our family parties.

North Carolina and South Carolina have been a region through the years that has championed family values. The great leaders of our region have said you should “put children first and put families first.” And North Carolina has been a beautiful place to visit on weekend getaways with my family, and South Carolina has been a great home where my family has lived and worked during our long, eventful and happy lives here.

I want to celebrate my parents’ 64th anniversary. I want to thank them for always being good people who never changed, and I’m glad they taught us to be good people like them as well. And on their next anniversary, I want to thank them for being still around here with us.

— Steven Hawkins
Greenville, S.C.

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