Glenda Lou (Gant) Hawkins

Glenda was born April 21, 1934 in Bandon, Oregon to Elmer and Grace Gant.  She passed away February 9, 2021 in Medford, Oregon after a sudden illness. Glenda was the 3^rd of five children, and she spent her entire childhood in Bandon. As a small child she lived in the family’s clothing store (Gant Clothing Store) after the Bandon fire, and later at the family cranberry farm.  She was active in school, was a Job’s Daughters queen, and a Cranberry princess.  After graduating from Bandon High School, she worked for four years in Bandon before moving to Eugene.  After working another four years in Eugene she met her future husband, Warren Hawkins.  She moved back to Bandon and married him at the age of 26. They raised six children and her days were spent caring for her family, gardening, canning, sewing, and assisting with the family cranberry farm.  Glenda was very social and enjoyed having morning coffee with friends after the kids went to school.

After all the children were life-bound and the youngest was a senior in high school, Glenda went to community college and enrolled in accounting classes in preparation to re-enter the job market at the age of 52.  It was quite a transition after being out of the market for so long, but she managed to keep a 4.00 GPA. She discovered after her education however that it was exceedingly difficult to get into the field at a later age.  She then enrolled in school in North Bend and earned her instructor’s license in Hair Design and Cosmetology.  After she graduated, she leased “The New You Salon” in downtown Port Orford in 1988. During the three years that she leased the business, she and Warren divorced, and she moved to Port Orford.  In 1995 she purchased property and designed and built a new home complete with a new salon.  Her business was “The New You Beauty Boutique,” and it was completed in 1997.  Glenda loved her home. She spent hours grooming the park-like yard and collected many antiques.  Glenda was very tenacious, to say the least.  She installed walkways, landscaped, installed fountains, and built pergolas on her property.  There was little she could not accomplish.  Glenda worked in her salon clear up until her death at the age of 86.

Glenda had many friends.  She was pre-deceased by her parents Elmer and Grace Gant, and her partner and soulmate Tim Laurence. She is survived by four siblings: Tom (Marian) Gant of Bandon, Jim (Barbara) Gant of Cottage Grove, Gloria Haga of Bandon, and Susan (Bob) Winnop of Satsuma, AL.  She is also survived by six children: Stacey (Bill) Christensen of Coquille, Scott Hawkins of Coquille, Terry Chandler of Coquille, Kelly (Thomas) Ventriglia, Marnie Rubrecht of Glide, and Lucas (Beth) Hawkins of Seattle, ten granddaughters, two grandsons, six great-granddaughters, and six great-grandsons.  A private family interment, and celebration of life for family and friends will be held later this summer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Republican party or the NRA.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Glenda Lou (Gant) Hawkins, please visit our floral store.