Remembering the Life of Margaret Hawn, 98.

Margaret Hawn dealt her last hand, took her final trick, and joined her husband & favorite bridge partner in Heaven on 28 December 2023.

She was born 3 April 1925, in Long Beach, California to Ben and Ella (O'Connell) Krieser.

Margaret attended school at Long Beach PolyTech, worked in muni court for a bit and then at Bethlehem Steel Co for several years doing secretarial work during WW2.   At 23, she married the love of her life Leonard R. Hawn, Jr on 28 December 1948.  They met through their church friends and had 750 people at their wedding.

Just a little aside about those dates:

Leonard died on Valentine's Day 2014.

Margaret died on their 75th wedding anniversary.

Little love notes to each other, and to those who loved them.

Margaret and Leonard spent their early married years in China Lake where only God, Leonard, and a few colleagues knew what projects he worked on.  Margaret's project was more public, as she had her first daughter Susan while they were at China Lake.

They enjoyed the outdoors and went on many backpack trips together and with family including Mt Whitney, the Grand Canyon (several times), and the High Sierras.  They both loved vacationing and hiking in the Western National Parks including Zion, Bryce, Lake Powell, Yosemite, and Canyon De Chelly.

Margaret loved to play tennis.  She and Leonard played for many years on the Fallbrook tennis courts, and she also played competitive doubles tennis with her partner Emma Rashkin, well into her 80s.  It took an Achilles heel injury to take her off the courts!  Tennis was the only sport she watched on TV – and she watched it like fan watching a football game – yelling at the TV -- and cheering and scolding her favorite players.

Margaret's morning routine for the past several years reflected her love for words.  She worked the crossword by phone with her friend Peggy Lee until it was solved.  When Peggy cancelled her paper, Margaret solved it with her daughter Sally – passing it back and forth until all the clues were filled in.  Only then could she officially start her day.  To continue with her love for words and games – Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! were part of her evening routine.

Margaret loved spending time with her bridge friends and up until the last 6 months of her life, she drove herself to bridge and played at least three times a week!  She loved the camaraderie and sharing her persimmons and avocados when they were in season.

She is survived by her daughters Susan (Bob) Beckett, Hemet CA, and Sally Hawn Moran, Fallbrook; granddaughters Sharon Beckett (Brent) Anderson and Susanne Beckett (Steve) Ryan; great-granddaughters Ashlie Anderson, Jessica Anderson (Luke) Lindsey, Sierra Ryan, and Cheyenne Ryan; and her niece Cheryl Haun, AZ.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Leonard, and an infant great grandson, Benjamin Anderson.

Cards may be sent to the family c/o Sally Moran at PO Box 1431, Fallbrook CA 92088.