Carolyn Virginia Meachum Hawxhurst

Carolyn Hawxhurst Obituary
Loving wife, mother, daughter, friend, volunteer, and community member Carolyn Virginia Meachum Hawxhurst passed away on March 6 at the age of 89 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on April 30, 1935, and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Carolyn was the oldest of three children born to Jessie and Lonnie Meachum. She grew up active in First Baptist Church of Virginia Beach, where her father was the pastor before becoming a Navy chaplain. Her parents and her two brothers, Charles Meachum and Bill Meachum, preceded her in death.
Carolyn was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class in 1953, one of the last classes to graduate from Oceana High School, which was closed soon after due to proximity to the flight path for Oceana Naval Air Station. She attended William & Mary College, where she was active in Chi Omega sorority. After graduation in 1957, she taught in a series of elementary schools, in Virginia Beach and Alexandria, Virginia and Okinawa, Japan.
She married Robert D. Hawxhurst on August 19, 1961, and the family lived in several communities in southern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, always close to the Chesapeake Bay. While raising her three children, she was active in the local community: teaching Sunday School, leading Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, serving on multiple PTAs and school board committees. She is remembered for her efforts to organize integrated swimming lessons and Vacation Bible School at a time when segregation was the norm.
Once her children needed less of her time, Carolyn took a role at the YWCA Women's Center in Annapolis, Maryland, where she supported the needs of women in crisis for several years. She also was a substitute teacher in the local school district.
After the death of her husband in 1999, she moved from Maryland back to her hometown of Virginia Beach, where she enjoyed many important friendships and volunteer opportunities. Virginia Beach was her home base as she traveled extensively, with trips to South America, Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States. She enjoyed holiday celebrations with her children and their families.
Throughout her adult life, she was a faithful member of the United Methodist congregation where she lived, including Centenary UMC in Shady Side, Maryland, Friendship UMC in Friendship, Maryland, and Nimmo UMC in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
She loved reading, walking on the boardwalk at the beach, caring for others, nurturing life-long friendships, and leaving every place better than when she found it.
In 2021, Carolyn moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to be closer to her eldest daughter and her family. She appreciated the care of the staff at Friendship Village, where she lived in her final years, and she passed away peacefully and lovingly supported at Rose Arbor Hospice.
Surviving are her three children and their families: Joan Hawxhurst (Steve Bertman, Sarah, Isaac) of Kalamazoo MI, Jean Hawxhurst (Jerry Cappel, Jordan, Ashley) of Simpsonville KY, and David Hawxhurst (Sara Edelson, Owen) of Los Angeles CA, as well as a loving extended family of Meachums and Hawxhursts across the country.
According to her wishes, cremation has taken place. There will be a memorial service at Nimmo United Methodist Church and a memorial brick placed at Buff's Garden in Virginia Beach, later in the year.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to:
-Nimmo United Methodist Church, 2040 Nimmo Church Ln, Virginia Beach, VA 23456; https://www.nimmochurch.com/
-YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, 1517 Ritchie Highway, Suite 201, Arnold, MD 21012; https://www.annapolisywca.org/
-Princess Anne County/Virginia Beach Historical Society (PACVBHS), 2040 Potters Road, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 23454
-Oshtemo Friends of the Parks, 7275 West Main Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49009; https://oshtemofriends.org/donate/