Dale Eugene Hawley

Dale Eugene Hawley, 59, of Meadville, passed away on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. He was born in Alliance, Neb., on April 5, 1950, to Harold Kenneth Hawley and Erma Adeline Colerick Hawley.After graduating high school, Dale spent three years in the U.S. Army. One year (1969 to 1970) in Vietnam as a helicopter crew chief with the 121st Assault Helicopter Company and the 626th Counter-Mortar Radar Company. Following his military duty, Dale was educated in Nebraska and Colorado.Dale met his wife, Sharon Ann Searl, while working for the U.S. Forest Service in Boulder, Colo. They were married on July 6, 1974. They lived in Louisville, Colo., where their children were born, until 1982 when they moved to Santa Fe, N.M., with the U.S. Forest Service, Sante Fe National Forest. In 1984 they moved to Russell. Dale worked on the Allegheny National Forest for four years. In 1988 they moved to Libby, Mont., and worked on the Kootenai National Forest for 14 years. They then moved to Arlington, Va., in 2002, where Dale worked at the U.S. Forest Service National Headquarters until he retired with more than 30 years of service. He and Sharon moved to Meadville in July 2005.Dale attended First Christian Church, Meadville, and was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.Dale is survived by his wife Sharon, of 35 years; his children, Travis Hawley and his wife, Melissa, of Missoula, Mont., and Kate Hawley of Meadville; his mother, Erma Hawley, a brother, Ken Hawley, and two sisters, Cindy Shannon and Rita Hawley, all of Alliance.A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Stephen P. Mizner Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc., 404 Chestnut St., Meadville.Dale lived his life to the fullest. He was a good and honorable man and will be missed by many. 2 Timothy 4:7.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Yolanda G. Barco Cancer Institute, 16792 Conneaut Lake Road, Meadville, Pa. 16335.Share your condolences at miznerfuneralhome@zoominternet.net.