Loretta Irene Bass-Hawkins

Loretta Irene Bass (Hawkins) was a natural born encourager, cheerleader, and caregiver! She was born in 1935, to Louise and Lester Bass, in a single family home at the top of a very steep hill in North Braddock, Pennsylvania. She later had brother Robert, and sister Adrienne. She graduated with honors from Scott High School in North Braddock, where she took an active interest in academics as well as extra curricular activities as a cheerleader and a majorette. She also earned an academic scholarship. After graduation, she attended the University of Pittsburgh for two years. Loretta’s mother went home to be with the Lord in 1955. Consequently she had to drop out of school, and she got a job to help take care of her sister. She remained with her sister until she married Aubrey Calvin Hawkins, Jr. (Hawk) in 1956. They had two children - Beverly Simone and Aubrey Calvin, III. “Hawk” passed away in 2002, after 47 years of marriage. Loretta was grandmother to six grandchildren - Erika Ashley, Lauren Victoria, Reginald Kenneth (Mack), Jordan Maurice, Serena Jaqlene, and Abrielle Sage. She was great-grandmother to two children - Aubrey Ava and Austin Bennett. Loretta resided in the same home, in the Garden City community of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, from 1965 until until 2013, when she sold her home and moved to Atlanta, Georgia to live with her daughter Beverly and son-in-law Reggie. Loretta thrived and became an integral part of every community where she resided. She enjoyed entertaining, hosting and organizing functions and gatherings for family, friends and neighbors, throughout the summer months, and during every holiday season. She belonged to multiple Garden City Church clubs and committees (Bible Study groups, fundraising committees, and church social committees). She helped organize an active social club for young married minority couples in the Monroeville community. She took an active role in multiple women’s clubs, and was appointed as a Matron for the Eastern Stars. She never knew an idle moment. She was determined to learn how to golf, so she could spend quality time with her husband. Her efforts were met with much success and were greatly rewarded. After Hawk passed, she invested her free time in taking computer classes at the Boyce Park Campus, attending concerts in the park, participating in monthly birthday celebrations with her circle of Scott High School friends, and another group of friends who called themselves “The Golden Girls”. She never missed a Scott High School class reunion. She also developed quite the “green thumb”, as she annually enjoyed shopping for, planting, cultivating, and nurturing just the right seasonal flowers in her yard, AND her daughter’s! She also loved planting and growing a vegetable garden in her back yard every summer, under the direction of a close friend, who owned a farm that she took an active roll in tending to. Loretta was a devoted encourager, via personal, thoughtful and endearing notes, letters and cards. She treasured the relationships she’d developed and maintained, with friends and her church family, and she faithfully and diligently reached out to each by phone and in writing, just to keep in touch. When she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law in 2013, she embraced and attended their church. She took an extra special joy in getting to know and socialize with the young children and pre-teens who attended the church, and they delightfully responded to her in-kind. While residing in Georgia. Loretta traveled with Beverly to Maryland every year , to visit her sister Adrienne, until Loretta's health no longer allowed her to travel. While there, Adrienne made it a point to reach out to relatives they hadn't seen in years, and they were able to spend precious time with extended family members, while looking through old photo albums together. Loretta and Beverly looked forward to these annual trips to visit with Adrienne. Together, they attended church services, sorority fashion shows, fancy tea parties, and they took many day-trips to see the sights and museums in the Washington DC area. In August 2016, Loretta experienced a mysterious devastating health event that resulted in revealing that she had Parkinson’s Disease, but it had gone undetectable for some years before she moved to Georgia. That significant health event changed the status of the disease, from undetectable to a case of advanced Parkinson’s. That coupled with Dementia, made her apathetic toward many of the activities she once enjoyed. She stopped actively participating in social pleasures, because she could no longer communicate fluently over the phone, nor could she communicate in writing. Her mobility, her thought processes and her ability to read and write were gravely impacted. When she attempted to write, her fingers and hands stopped cooperating with her efforts to express her thoughts, as and she could no longer maintain fluidity of thought. She remained strong and tenacious over the past four years. She weathered the challenges that the COVID epidemic brought with it - like her personal care home’s strictly enforced visiting limitations. She was still able to enjoy music and her mind was able to keenly focus when she heard familiar gospel hymns from her past. She actually spent many precious hours, during the many COVID months, singing gospel hymns led by her son Aubrey, when they shared intimate one-on-one FaceTime visits. They continued to share such precious time together during special in-person visits. To our delight, her mind was surprisingly and particularly sharp when Aubrey challenged her to spell difficult words. She was always a wordsmith and she was quite the champion in the Hawkins household, when it came to spelling and grammar. She continued to recognize family members. She was particularly fond of her son-in-law Reggie, and enjoyed his visits immensely. She also was visibly delighted and gleaned much pleasure when she was able to observe her great-grandchildren in action. Her family intensely missed the person Loretta was before Parkinson’s Disease took over her mobility, and Dementia took over her mind and speech. She was such a lively and spirited woman, full of life, a social butterfly, and was warm, friendly and kind to strangers and children. She was also very feisty, and had plenty energy, motivation and spunk! She possessed a unique, hearty and deep-belly laugh. She was a woman filled with passion for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and she overflowed with warmth, adoration and admiration for all those whom she held dear.

Tributes

Loretta Irene Bass-Hawkins

March 23, 1935 - November 8, 2022