David Chrysler Hawn

David passed away gracefully and peacefully after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2020. Even in his later days, he loved and appreciated a good story, a well-timed joke, good music, and a four-course meal. The family is immensely grateful to the staff at Morningstar's memory care facility for their care, attention, and assistance with David.

David was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and grew up in Alamogordo, New Mexico with his parents, Alfred Hawn and LaVonne Chrysler. He proved to be a proficient pianist from an early age under the instruction of Gladys Stoors, and he cultivated that skill by serving in his church as a pianist and organist beginning in his teen years, which was a passion that he fulfilled all of his life. He took up cello in middle school and played through high school, where he earned a chair in the All-State Music Festival. As a young teenager, he bought himself an ice cream cart and sold goodies to the surrounding neighborhood families. He also earned his Eagle Scout rank with the Boy Scouts.

After high school, David studied piano at the University of North Texas, and also received his Master's degree at Michigan State in Piano Performance. He earned another Bachelor's in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico, which steered him towards the sciences and led him to his 35-year career at Sandia National Labs. Though he promised to marry the love of his life, Margaret Bowling, when he was 15 years old, they only realized that vow on his 22nd birthday and were married in 1968. He received his Vietnam draft notice only three weeks after their wedding, but was able to defer for almost a year before heading off to basic training. He enlisted in the Army and trained as a medic in the Green Berets, where he proudly made 56 successful jumps out of a "perfectly good airplane". He was stationed in Bad Tolz, Germany for the remaining duration of his service. He was honorably discharged and he and Margaret moved back to the Albuquerque area and made it their home for the next 50 years.

David spent his life as a devoted husband to his beloved Margaret, their children, Greg, Jennifer, Rachel, Mark, Kristin, and Laura, and grandfather to their 24 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. He was known as a baby whisperer and loved calming crying children, often taking them up and starting with the phrase "come and fuss at me!" It cured them almost every time.

He was always involved with music at church, playing both organ and piano, accompanying the choir, and was a long-standing bell choir conductor/music composer and arranger/bell mechanic/substitute ringer/and generally a wonderful source of musical inspiration. He was a monument in Margaret's violin studio, and other studios in the Albuquerque area, accompanying countless students playing the beginners Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to the highly technical Tchaikovsky concerto, making the former feel just as professional as the latter. He was "the rock of Gilbralter" for nerve-rattled students auditioning for prestigious competitions throughout the state.

When he had free time, David could be found working at their home, a 10-acre east mountain property nestled in the rolling hills of Tijeras Canyon. He liked maintaining the vehicles, building something new, or just generally making something better. He loved to use his hands and was patient in learning the mechanics of any given item, which made him capable of fixing almost anything. He kept himself fit by riding his bike, running during his lunch breaks, swimming laps at the pool while the kids did daredevil tricks in the deep end, most of the time with a stop at the ice cream shop on the way home. He loved to take the kids to the stadium to watch a Duke's baseball game, and regularly had time for a couple of innings on the family field out front before the sun went down. Instead of just fixing something, he always took the time to explain how it worked, taught us to use the right tools, and reminded us that when seating the impossible screw in the hardest-to-reach part of the engine bay, sometimes you had to "hold your mouth juuuuust right".

David was a strong, peaceful man; he loved God, family, country, and people greatly, and always showed up for them. He was reliable and steadfast, loyal and duty-bound, and his laughter and love will carry on for generations to come.

A celebration of his life will be held at Faith Lutheran Church on October 29th, 2025, with a musical tribute at 9:30 am, service at 10 am, and a fellowship luncheon, concluding with a funeral procession to Santa Fe, where he will be buried with military honors at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.