Jane and Alexander HAWES

HAWES, Alexander "Sandy" and Jane "Piper" Gepfert Jane "Piper" Gepfert Hawes passed away in Tucson, Arizona, on October 28. Her husband of 53 years, Alexander "Sandy" Hawes, passed away in Tucson six weeks earlier, on September 11. They are survived by their two children, Alex Hawes (Rachel) of Tucson, Arizona and Ellen Hobson (David) of Norwich, Vermont; and four grandchildren, Katherine Hawes, Finnegan Hawes, Stella Hobson and Alaric Hobson. Jane is survived by her older siblings, Ken Gepfert and Joan Donnelly; Alexander is survived by his two sisters, Sue Hawes and Harriet Savage. He was predeceased by his brother, Matthew Hawes.

The son of Alexander Hawes and Elizabeth (Armstrong) Hawes, Sandy was born in Washington, D.C. on May 5, 1947, and graduated from St. Albans School. He attended college at the University of Denver, where he met Piper in line signing up for classes freshman year.

Piper was born to Cornelius and Helen Gepfert in Los Angeles, California, on July 31, 1947. Piper graduated from DU in 1969 and earned a Fulbright Scholar Award to teach for a year in France. After living a few years in Colorado Springs, they settled in the Boston area, where they remained until retirement. Originally working as a French teacher at Charles River School in Dover, Piper earned a masters in library science from Simmons University and worked as a librarian in the Walpole Public School system.

Sandy worked in journalism first at the Colorado Springs Sun and the Berkshire Eagle and then at the Boston Globe. While at the Globe, Sandy won a Pulitzer Prize for Local Investigative Specialized Reporting in 1980, as part of the Globe's five-person Spotlight Team for its series of articles on mismanagement and corruption within the Boston transit system. Sandy had previously worked the City Hall beat for the Globe and co-wrote the February 7, 1978 lead article "Blizzard batters New England," having been stuck in Dorchester for three nights to report on that memorable storm.

Sandy and Piper enjoyed many years of retirement, spending time primarily in Little Compton, Rhode Island and Savannah, Georgia. Services for both Piper and Sandy Hawes will be held at St. Andrew's by the Sea in Little Compton, Rhode Island, at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 25.