Lucile Taylor Smart Hawkins' Obituary
Lucile Taylor Smart Hawkins died Friday, May 29, 2026. A longtime resident of Covington, Louisiana, she died peacefully in Tylertown, Mississippi, at Loch Ross Farms, in the care of her daughter. She was 89 years old.
Known by family and friends as “Puddin,” a nickname she received in infancy, she was born September 17, 1936, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Adopted and raised in the Carrollton neighborhood by loving parents William Graham Smart Sr. and Lucile Taylor Smart, their extended family became a source of great honor in her life. She relished a wonderful cadre of loving aunts, uncles, and cousins across the Southeast. Puddin attended St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Metairie, graduating in 1954. She remained a proud alumna, participating in her 70th class reunion in 2024.
After attending Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, in August 1958, she married John Carlton Hawkins, also from New Orleans. Over the next twenty years, the couple lived in Pensacola, Florida, Wills Point, Texas, and Huntsville, Alabama, before returning to greater New Orleans in 1979 to help care for her aging parents. Residing in Covington, John and Puddin renovated her parents’ home at “Smartacres” along the Bogue Falaya River, which had been a weekend retreat throughout her childhood. There she hosted many gatherings of church friends, card groups, and family celebrations. She also took great pride in tending to her late father’s prize-winning camellia bushes. John preceded her in death in 2009, bringing to a close 51 years of marriage.
Puddin was a devoted mother to their three children: daughter Sarah Hawkins Ross (Dennis) of Tylertown, Mississippi; son John Carlton “Jack” Hawkins Jr. (Diane) of Mandeville, Louisiana, and son Ralph William Hawkins (Debra) of Warner Robins, Georgia. “Aunt Puddin” also dearly loved her two nieces and two nephews, children of her late brother William Graham Smart, Jr. and his wife Lane Ford Smart. Being a grandmother to her six grandchildren and her four greatgrandchildren proved to be Puddin’s most cherished role in life, and she was affectionately known by them as “Grammy” and “Mimi.” They are Andrew Ross (Miriam) and children Kaylie, Emalyn, and Sawyer; Ainsley Ross McGovern (Grant) and child Grant Jr.; Michelle Hawkins, John Hawkins III, Lonnie Hawkins; and Ella Hawkins. Collectively, they give thanks for many years of fun sleepovers, endless card games, thoughtful birthday gifts, frequent Wizard of Oz viewings, and unrequested recitations of her silly poetry. She was a tireless cheerleader amidst all their activities and education.
Puddin and John were active Christians and devoted Presbyterians throughout their marriage, always participating in congregations and their ministries wherever they resided. During her decades of membership at Covington Presbyterian Church, she served in numerous roles: deacon, ruling elder, Sunday School teacher, and organizer of Presbyterian Women groups. For many years, she joined other women in a lively puppet ministry, her character “Lucy” playing a part in teaching Bible stories and life lessons to children. As a deacon, Puddin was a dutiful visitor of friends in need during their time in hospitals and nursing homes. Her children give thanks for the many ways she exercised her spiritual gifts of compassion, kindness, and encouragement.
A service of witness to the resurrection will be held at Covington Presbyterian Church on Saturday, June 6, at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow. Rev. Dr. Jeff Simms will officiate, and family member Miriam Ross — a candidate for Presbyterian ordination — will offer words of remembrance. Despite her lifelong love of camellias, in lieu of flowers, her family suggests donations be made in her memory to Covington Presbyterian Church.
E.J. Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. Please sign the guestbook at https://www.ejfieldingfh.com.
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