Marvin Richard (“Dick”) Hawes “slipped the surly bonds of earth” on May 1, 2025
to be reunited with family, friends, and old fishing buddies. Dick, or “Grandpa” as he
was known to his four granddaughters, was the son of the late Dr. Marvin Ep and Naomi
Perrine Hawes. Dick was born in February 1938 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and he grew
up in Columbus, Indiana, where his father ran a medical practice with his grandfather,
the late Dr. James Kelly Hawes. Dick spent his childhood with his father hunting and
fishing, and he was particularly fond of their trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Dick followed his Uncle Tom Hawes’s footsteps to Milligan College in Johnson
City, Tennessee, where he became a manager of the men’s basketball team. At
Milligan, he met Miss Argie Lee Payne, who he went on to marry in May 1959.

Following his graduation from Milligan, the newlyweds moved to Knoxville, Tennessee
for graduate school at the University of Tennessee (go Big Orange!). While Dick went
onto earn several graduate degrees at UT, his greatest accomplishment was the birth of
his son (and hunting and fishing buddy), Mark.
Dick left UT in 1965 to begin his career at Oglethorpe University as an
Entomologist and Assistant Professor of Biology. His time at Oglethorpe was relatively
short-lived, as he and Argie Lee had fallen in love with Morganton, North Carolina, as
they regularly travelled through the area to visit family on the North Carolina coast. Dick
soon found a teaching position at Western Piedmont Community College (“WPCC”),
and they moved to Morganton in 1967. Before the main WPCC campus opened, Dick
could often be found teaching biology classes or labs in the basement of the old A&P on
East Union Street. Dick would go on to teach at WPCC for 40 years, retiring in 2007.
Even after his retirement, Dick remained an active community member at WPCC,
frequently attending staff lunches (sometimes with his granddaughter, Liz, in tow) and
taking woodworking classes.
Dick loved to fish. It’s no surprise that with several others, he was a founding
member of the Table Rock Trout Unlimited Chapter and was the chapter’s first
president. He soon found a way to marry his love of fishing and teaching by offering a
Fly Tying and Rod Building class at WPCC. The WPCC Biology Club (which Dick led)
would regularly “justify” field trips to the Pamlico Sound or the Outer Banks where his
students were exposed to the wide variety of species in the surrounding saltwater
environment. Later, Dick had an epiphany: the Biology Club could sell Christmas trees
to fund offshore fishing trips, where his students could continue to expand their
immersion in the diversity of species in offshore waters—a tradition that would continue
until his retirement.
Dick also dearly loved to bird hunt, partly due to the fact he could always justify
having an english setter by his side, and, like his father, he was a great shot. Dick could
often times be found dove or quail hunting locally with friends or hunting with the
cousins in Hyde County, North Carolina. Dick was deeply drawn to the coastal waters
of Hyde County and the fishing and hunting offered in and near the Pamlico Sound—a
location Dick would frequent regularly until his health no longer allowed.
The only passion to surpass Dick’s love for fishing was his family and especially
his four granddaughters. Stories of their trips fishing, Christmas shopping, or just rides
with Grandpa are cherished moments the girls share. One particularly fond memory
involves Dick catching a snapping turtle and keeping it in a box on the dining room table
until the girls could see it (no touching, of course).

The Lord God is wise beyond comprehension. Even for Dick. We know, through
the wonderful verse in Psalm 23 that states “he leadeth me beside the still waters,” that
Dick is with the Lord God. Dick was a fisherman and a fisher of men at heart.
Dick is survived by his wife of almost 66 years, Argie Lee of Morganton, North
Carolina. He is also survived by his son, Mark Hawes and wife Kimberly of Valdese,
North Carolina; as well as his four granddaughters: Elizabeth Hawes and husband Kyle
Morgan of Morganton, North Carolina; Mary-Kathryn Hawes and fiancé Cooper D’Anton
of Washington, D.C.; and Sara-Kelly Hawes and Caroline-Grace Hawes, both of Chapel
Hill, North Carolina. Dick will be reunited in heaven with his parents, Dr. Marvin Ep and
Naomi Perrine Hawes; his sister, Naomi Ruth Hawes; and all of his dogs, including his
beloved cocker spaniel, Scooter.
The Hawes Family would like to express their sincere thanks to the Via Health
Care team and the wonderful, caring staff at College Pines of Rutherford College. Each
care team member embraced Dick and his family with empathy, love, and exceptional
care. We will be forever grateful for their support and care during this time.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution in Dick’s honor to
the Western Piedmont Foundation or go fishing with your loved ones. The family will be
holding a private service at a later date in eastern North Carolina.
As former President Ronald Reagan said as he comforted our nation at a time of
loss, “we will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them.” In the meantime, we
can’t wait for the day we see Dick again and can ask him: “What have you been
doing?” And he’ll answer, like he always did, “waiting on you.” Until that day comes
again, wet a line, think of Dick, and know he is alongside of you getting ready to cast his
own line!