John Wesley Hawkins, 69

Sept. 26, 2025 — Salt Lake City

John Wesley Hawkins died two days after his 69th birthday at the University of Utah Hospital.

John grew up in a family of six children, the son of Idaho pioneers and public servants. His mother, Ida Louise (Daugharty) Hawkins, was a tireless advocate for children and the underserved. His father, James Wesley Hawkins, was a respected and beloved surgeon and family practitioner, medical researcher and public health advocate.

Born in 1956, the year of the Fire Monkey, John was part of a dynamic Coeur d’Alene family where the kids were told they could do and be whomever they wished. True to his “monkey nature,” he was a jokester, a lively thinker, a lucky gambler and someone who enjoyed new ventures. Living with an eye condition that required five surgeries before the age of 6, John learned determination and self-reliance at an early age. As he grew up, John excelled at running and learned SCUBA as a teen.  

After high school, John joined the Marines and quickly distinguished himself as a leader, earning honors that included USMC NCO Leadership School, US Navy Dive School Instructor Certification, and USMC Embassy Security Guard training. He loved serving in the Pacific, especially in Japan and the Philippines, and his time in the Marines sparked a lifelong love of travel.

John later earned a degree in business from Eastern Washington University, where he served on the student council and was elected student body president in 1982. Although he earned a business degree, he found his true calling in wildland firefighting. Beginning as a seasonal firefighter in North Idaho, he later joined the elite El Cariso Interagency Hotshot Crew in Southern California and was eventually accepted into the smokejumper program in Redmond, Ore. His years as a smokejumper based in Redmond and Boise were among the most challenging and meaningful of his life.

Over a 10-year career, John jumped into fires across the western United States, including Alaska. During the off-seasons, he traveled widely — Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam among his favorites — often staying long enough to form lasting friendships with locals and fellow travelers.

Following his smokejumper years, John worked for the Bureau of Land Management in wildland fire and resource management before retiring to Coeur d’Alene to be near family. He was an ardent student of history, especially the World Wars and U.S. politics, and was a devoted fan of the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Though he never married, John had a wide circle of friends. People loved and appreciated him despite his eccentricities. He prided himself on having friends from every walk of life and was deeply loyal to those he cared about. When accepted as a lung transplant patient, his dream was to learn swing dancing and resume the travels that had been cut short by lung disease.

John was preceded in death by his parents, James and Ida Hawkins, his brother, Richard Gordon Hawkins, and his sister-in-law, Teresa Hawkins. He is survived by his sisters, Betsy (George Butterfield) and Mary Hawkins, of Coeur d’Alene, and his brothers, Robert Whiteley and Ronald Hawkins, of Spokane. He is also survived by nieces Chelsea (Dustin Harris) Dickinson, Mila Whiteley and Jasmine (Chuck Guice) Cereghino, and nephews Tyler Dickinson, Ari (Eya Santana) Whiteley, and Jared (Chelsea Good) Cereghino; as well as great-nieces and nephews Ben Dickinson-Burke, Hannah Dickinson-Huggins, Henry, Fox and Fern Whiteley, Trevin, Avery and Elise Cereghino, and great-nephew Arthur Huggins-Spokas.

His smokejumper family remained important throughout his life, and five of his closest colleagues formed a recovery team that stood by him throughout his illness. He also counted Katie (Kathryn) Calcagno as his cherished “niece of the heart.”

John’s family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support during his transplant journey. The care, prayers, and kindness shown by so many were remarkable and made a lasting difference.

A celebration of life will be held on Memorial Day weekend 2026.