Members and friends: we are starting a space to post obituaries and memories of PFS members who pass on. This space will evolve - these memories of Skye are a first effort.
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OBITUARY: Remember Skye, called Skye by her friends
Skye’s birth name was Dorothy Leonie Hawkins
Born 9/14/1941; died 7/7/2023
Dorothy (Skye) was born in LaGrange, Georgia. She died in a foster care home in Portland Oregon on July 7, 2023. Her grandfather Joseph Winterkorn came from Hungary, her grandmother Leonie Josephine Garbe came from France. Their third child, Marie Winterkorn, was Dorothy’s mother. Dorothy’s mother married Henry Victor Hawkins.
Skye (Dorothy) grew up in Massachusetts, graduating high school from Lexington, Massachusetts. For a while, she worked as a nursery school assistant and also as a nanny. She traveled to Florida with a family as their nanny, and also traveled to Canada. She met her husband Michael at a dance; that relationship eventually ended up in marriage. Their marriage lasted ten years.
Skye (Dorothy) came to Oregon in the early 1980’s. She was a longstanding member of the Portland FolkMusic Society. She regularly attended song circles, to which she travelled by public transit pulling a shopping cart. She especially enjoyed seeing the children and took photos which she would then share with their parents. She sang along and enjoyed seeing her friends.
She was very interested in the opera; she loved classical music; she attended plays; and visited cultural centers and churches. She enjoyed going to Menucha Retreat Center and was very fond of a stray cat she called Kitty Bo. She often attended the Messiah Finnish Lutheran church and the Jewish Synagogue, P’nai Or. She especially enjoyed the Rose City Garden Railway Society, and visited homes where people displayed miniature trains in their yards. She was an avid reader, enjoyed the Oregon Public Broadcasting television station, and kept up on the news, reading the Oregonian. She especially loved human-interest stories and history.
Skye (Dorothy) was a poet in her own right. Her poems wer a treasured part of her life. She longed to have them in print to share with others. Recently, her health kept her bed bound, but her mind was always active. She was always faithful to remember her friends' birthdays. She will be greatly missed.
Skye was buried at the Jewish Cemetery at River View, Portland Oregon. Memorial services will be held at both the Messiah Finnish Lutheran church and the Jewish Synagogue, P’nai Or. Exact details have not been determined.
If you would like to honor her you can make a donation to the Rose City Garden Railway Society or P’nai Or Synagogue, Portland, Oregon.