HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Iris C. Dawkins, 86, died on Oct. 25 after a four-year illness.
Iris Carmen McFarquhar was born on Sept. 27, 1921, to Wilfred and Lulitta McFarquhar, residents of Paraiso in the Panama Canal Zone. Her formal education began at Paraiso Elementary-Junior High School, and continued at Colegio La Santa Familia in Panama City, Panama. Upon graduating she was employed by the Panama Canal Company as a clerk in the Curundu Commissary, also known as Ancon Market.
In 1943, she married Lynford Melville Phipps. The newlyweds immediately traveled to Kingston, where they established their home. A son, Raymond, was born and her youngest brother lived with them while attending school in Kingston. The marriage ended in divorce.
In 1953, Iris McFarquhar married Edward Henry 'King' Dawkins of Jamaica. The couple emigrated to the United States and settled in New York, N.Y. They moved to Brooklyn when their first son, Wayne, was born. Their home was graced with the arrival of two other sons, Keith and Richard. In 1963, Raymond joined the family from Jamaica.
Mrs. Dawkins was a mother and homemaker for several decades. She also sold Avon cosmetics for about a dozen years. For more than 20 years Mrs. Dawkins worked as a part-time clerk for the New York City Department for the Aging. Mrs. Dawkins' employment there ended in 2003 when she was diagnosed with dementia.
She is survived by her sons, Raymond Phipps of Orangeburg, S.C., Wayne J. Dawkins of Newport News, Va., Keith G. Dawkins of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Richard M. Dawkins of Richmond, Calif.; siblings, Hector McFarquhar of Plantation, Fla., Wilfred (Fred) McFarquhar of Lyndhurst, N.J.; the Rev. Mabel McFarquhar of Panama; and Lloyd Handel McFarquhar of Teaneck, N.J.; 11 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Nov. 7 at Community Church of New York, 40 E. 35th St., New York, N.Y. 10016.
Funeral arrangements by Restview Memorial Mortuary of Davie, Fla., 866-583-REST.
