Paul A. Hawkinson
Paul A. Hawkinson passed away on July 8th, 2025.
Paul was predeceased by his wife of 49 years, Phyllis Fleck Hawkinson.
Lovingly remembered by his daughter Kimberly Hawkinson Hellyar (Mark), granddaughter Theresa Hellyar Lauber (Sam) and great grandson Brody.
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used and worn out and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a ride!”~Hunter S. Thompson
A celebration of life will be held at a future date.
An excellent and recommended poem by Longfellow entitled “A Psalm of Life” speaks of what we can be reminded of from great men through the lines “and departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.” It may be argued that we all do that by our interactions with others, but Paul Hawkinson did much more.
Following an extensive career in the executive search and recruiting field, he founded a newsletter entitled The Fordyce Letter which became for 35 years, the most widely read print and online publication in the entire industry. Throughout that time, as a result of his personal knowledge, wisdom and exposing others to the best business knowledge of others, the entire industry took a giant step forward as a direct result of the material presented. Untold numbers of people benefited professionally from Paul Hawkinson and The Fordyce Letter plus his several books.
“Footprints on the sands of time” does not begin to describe it. And we were personal friends for over 40 years. It was an honor to know him.