Mary Hawkins

Mary Young Hawkins, 85, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, August 1, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. Born Mary Deon Young on October 12, 1939 in Bristol, Virginia. She was the daughter of Carl Roosevelt Young and Katherine Byrd Young, who preceded her in death. She also lost a twin sister, who died at birth.

Mary grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee. As a teenager, she enjoyed riding horses and competing in horse shows winning many ribbons, particularly on Tennessee Walking Horses. She attended Science Hill High School where she met the love of her life, William McAdam “Bill” Hawkins.

Mary briefly attended The University of Tennessee – Knoxville before she and Bill married on November 28, 1959. The newlyweds moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania before moving back to Knoxville in 1962 so Bill could attend graduate school. There they welcomed their first child, Linda Lea. After graduate school, the family moved to Parkersburg, West Virginia where, in 1964, their son, William Hawkins, Jr., was born. In 1968, the family moved to Nashville, Tennessee where Mary and Bill lived in the same house for more than 50 years.

Mary had a passion for plants, a trait she inherited from her father. While raising their children, she continued to cultivate her love for gardening. Eventually, Mary started a small, home-based business selling live plants to friends and florists. When Linda and Bill, Jr. grew up, she founded William & Mary’s Greenhouse on Bandywood Drive in Nashville where she sold “permanent botanicals” and teak garden furniture. After 10 years, she closed William & Mary’s and went back to yard work and tending her two greenhouses.

She and Bill loved to run, and in later years, walk at Radnor Lake. She enjoyed visiting with family and friends, including her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents and twin, she was preceded in death by her beloved sister, Jane. She lost her husband Bill in 2021, and they are now together again in Heaven with their Lord and Savior.

Mary is survived by her daughter, Linda Hawkins Ware (Don); son, William McAdam Hawkins, Jr. (Sharon); grandchildren, Mary Lynn Adcock (Chad), Katie Ware, Grace Ware, Lea Ware, and Jack Hawkins; great-grandchildren, Ezra Adcock and Wilder Adcock; brother, Carl Young, Jr (Kathy); and beloved nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Heart ‘n Soul Hospice and Clare Bridge at Brookdale Green Hills Cumberland for their kind support and loving care.

There will be a gathering of family and friends to celebrate Mary’s life on Sunday, August 31, 2025, 3:00-7:00 pm at The Pavillion at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens, 9090 Highway 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37221.

In lieu of flowers, feel free to donate to Friends of Radnor Lake or your favorite charity