WILLIAM HAWKINS

COMMERCE -- A private graveside service for William "Buddy" Hawkins of Park Forest, Ill., will beheld Wednesday at Oakdale Cemetery here.

Hawkins, 65, died Saturday, March 21,1992, at his home.

He was born Aug. 19, 1926, at Commerce, son of Will and Alta Smith Hawkins.

Hawkins received a degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He was employed by a space agency, and was instrumental in testing heat shields for space vehicle re-entry. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Survivors include his wife, the former Barbara Meyer; a son, William Hawkins III; a stepdaughter, Sharon Oliva; a stepson, Patrick Rossiter Hawkins, all of Park Forest; three sisters, Frances Kozesky of Latrobe, Pa., Helen Nimmo of Benton, Ky., Jane Hanheide of Green Valley, Ariz., and two grandchildren.