Carbondale--Thomas "Tom" David Hawk, 86, went to be with the Lord on Thursday, October 4, 2018 after an illness. He was born in Yale, Oklahoma on May 4, 1932 to Ralph and Dorotha Murphy Hawk.
Tom went to high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended Grace and Glory Bible School in Kansas City, Missouri and was ordained a minister of the Gospel in 1951.
After his ordination, he was drafted into the Army, but decided to join the Air Force instead. He served for fifteen years in the Strategic Air Command as a cryptographic operator and NCOIC, attaining the rank of Technical Sergeant (E-6). Overseas tours included Newfoundland, Greenland, Japan, South Korea and Spain. He then served ten years in the United States Army as a Chief Warrant Officer, Cryptographic Technician, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 in May 1977. His Army overseas tours of duty included Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.
After his service in Vietnam in 1969, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Exceptional Meritorious Achievement, the Bronze Star Medal for Exceptional Meritorious Achievement and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. He also received the Armed Forces Exceptionally Meritorious Achievement for Service in Hostile Area.
After retiring from military service, Tom served 17 years in the Civil Service for the Navy, retiring as the Contracts Officer, Public Works Center, Nas Point, Mugu, California in 1996. In total, Tom served for nearly 42 years with the Federal Government.
During his career, he completed his undergraduate and graduate studies, obtaining a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.
Tom married Nobuko Sakuraba in Japan on March 7, 1956. She converted to Christianity while they were stationed in Spain. They had a very enjoyable married life, traveling to many places across the globe during his military career. They had been married for 45 years when Nobuko died in 2001.
After his retirement from the Civil service, Tom served as Assistant Pastor and Adult Bible Teacher at Grace Chapel in Rosemead, California for eleven and a half years. He moved to Carbondale in 2016 to live with his sister, Anita, where he attended church services at Grace Chapel in Carbondale.
Tom was also preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers, Ralph E. Hawk and Stephen E. Hawk.
Tom is survived by his two sisters, Anita M. Clark of Carbondale and Barbara Wright of St. Louis, Missouri.
Tom was an outstanding man and we will miss him.
Funeral services for Tom will be held at 10:00am on Saturday, October 13 at the Grace Chapel in Carbondale. The family will receive friends one hour prior to services. Burial with military honors will be in the Carbondale Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Grace Chapel, sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Avenue, Lyndon, KS. 66451.