Gary D. Hawk

Gary D. Hawk, age 89, of Iola, Kansas, passed away on Saturday, January 1, 2022, at his home.

He was born December 24, 1932, at Hennessey, Oklahoma, the son of Orville and Nina (Witt) Hawk, the second son of four children. Gary graduated from Iola High School with the Class of 1950.

He married Beverly J. Morgan on August 29, 1954, in Iola, Kansas. This union was blessed with three daughters.
Gary joined the U.S. Navy in 1953, serving as a Machinist Mate Second Class on the U.S.S. Denebola.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Orville and Nina Hawk; one infant brother, Rex Lee Hawk; and one brother, Dale Hawk; In-laws, Maynard and Lena Morgan.

Gary is survived by his wife of 67 years, Beverly Hawk, of the home; three daughters, Deborah Smail and husband Ronald of Iola, Kansas, Susan Hawk of Iola, Kansas, Lora Obermueller and husband Mark of Lincoln, Kansas; nine grandchildren; ten great grandchildren; one brother, Robert Hawk and wife Virginia of Iola, Kansas; one sister-in-law, Pauline Hawk of Iola, Kansas; and six nieces.

Taken from the Iola Register published on January 3, 2022:

Gary Hawk left the world much the same way he entered it: on a holiday, during a winter storm.
In between, though, came a lifetime of art, invention and adventure that included two trips to the White House and global acclaim for his artwork that celebrated a rural way of life.
Hawk died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, Jan. 1, surrounded by his family and friends as a winter storm dropped freezing rain, ice and snow. He was 89.
He was born under very similar conditions, on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1932, on the family homestead, a sharecropper's shack, in Oklahoma.
"His birth story is something of a legend in our family," daughter Deborah Smail of Iola recalled.
That winter storm also brought freezing rain, ice and snow. Gary's father couldn't get the car out, so he hitched up the horse and buggy in search of a doctor. His mother didn't like one of her options, so she told him, "If you can't get that doctor, don't bring the other one. Just bring me the vet."
The family moved to Allen County in 1940, on a farm near Carlyle. Gary grew up with older brother, Dale, and younger brother, Bob. Another brother, Rex, died in infancy.
Gary graduated from Iola High School in 1950 and soon followed Dale into the Navy, where he served from 1953 to 1955.
He and Beverly were married on Aug. 29, 1954. For the next 67 years, he would call her "my bride."
After his discharge from the Navy, Gary attended Kansas State University and then the Kansas City Art Institute.
A career in the corporate world followed.
Daughter Deb, the oldest, said she and her two sisters, Susan Hawk of Iola and Lora Obermueller of Lincoln, grew up with different versions of their father.
"I grew up with a corporate dad. But my sisters grew up with an entirely different background."
Gary started working at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, where he led special projects and worked directly for JC Hall. That job offered opportunities to meet and work with important people, including Hall's friend, Walt Disney.
"Kids love it when their dad comes home with neat stories from work," Deb recalled, and told one of her favorites.
Gary was an inventor, and Hallmark patented one of his ideas to create a kite out of a greeting card. At the time, "punch-out" cards were popular. They could be turned into things like paper crowns or toys.
Gary created a punch-out kite.
He came home one day and told Deb he had spent a delightful afternoon on top of the Hallmark building, flying kites.
AFTER Hallmark, Gary was recruited to work for American Greeting Cards in Cleveland, Ohio.
"We didn't transplant well," Deb laughed.
The family missed Kansas. Gary's heart was always in Iola, and the family visited often, even though it would still be some years before they returned for good.
Beverly often said, "I married a farmer, even though he never farmed a day in his life."
After a short time in Ohio, Gary went to work for Boeing in Wichita.
Again, his inventor's mind and a bit of paper came in handy.
He was working on a project with a military plane, and the landing gear wasn't working properly.
"Dad recreated the entire landing gear with a model he made all out of paper. They figured out how to pack it, and were able to solve the problem," Deb said.
After several years in Wichita, the Hawk family decided to come home. Deb was a sophomore when they moved to Iola for the 1970-71 school year.
Gary went to work designing boats for IMP, Iola Molded Plastics.
Other inventions included a clothes hanger built especially for cars, extending from one side of the vehicle to the other. He also provided designs for assorted B-52 parts for Boeing and designs for Coleman lanterns.
IN 1976, a business trip for IMP changed the course of Gary's life.
He was flying home when he picked up a TWA Ambassador magazine. It featured an article on artist Frank Bama, who moved from New York City to a ranch near Yellowstone in Wyoming to follow his dream of being an artist.
He said, "I think I can do this."
With Beverly's support, Gary took a leap of faith. They borrowed $1,000 from their life insurance policy and Gary started painting in his studio. Beverly quit her job to handle the business side of things.
It's not easy to become a full-time artist, but Gary and Beverly made it happen.
They started with arts and crafts shows, and spent summers producing art at Silver Dollar City.
Since he often featured western scenes, he offered promotional artwork to co-ops and agricultural corporations. His work appeared on the covers of telephone books.
"All kinds of things to get his name out there," Deb said.
Early in his art career, in 1977, he painted what would become one of his most iconic works, "The Saddle."
He saw a saddle hanging at the barn of his friend, Don L. Nichols. He took a picture of it, then went home to recreate it, according to the Register's archives.
He nearly sold it for $200 at first. Later, he passed up an offer for $10,000.
The painting has graced the cover of Kansas! Magazine, "millions of phone books" across the nation and has been displayed in the Kansas Capitol.
That painting encapsulates what makes Gary's art so special, his daughter said.
"We know exactly whose saddle it was, but so many people said, 'That's my saddle,'" she recalled. "People would look at his art and say, 'That looks like my aunt's place' or 'I've seen that scene out hunting.' Something resonated.
"In ANOTHER iconic painting led to national acclaim and Gary's first trip to the White House.
The only portrait he ever painted, in 1984, was of Milburn Stone, an actor in the television show "Gunsmoke." Gary, as a Kansas artist, was asked to do the portrait of Stone, a native of Burrton. Prints were sold to create a scholarship for Dodge City Community College.
Stone happened to be a friend of President Ronald Reagan from his movie days. Kansas Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum invited Gary to the White House, where he presented Reagan with Print No. 1.
The print is now owned by the Reagan Presidential Library in California, where it is still on rotation for display.
More than 20 years later, in 2007, Gary would return to Washington, D.C. to meet President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura.
Gary had been asked to create a Christmas ornament as part of the White House theme, celebrating national parks. Gary had created works for historic Fort Scott, and that relationship led him to recreate a scene of the fort on his ornament. It was placed on the official White House Christmas Tree.
his former life, he must have been a cowboy."
NUMEROUS honors were bestowed on Gary Hawk over the years, by governors and presidents.
But what meant the most to him was closer to home, his daughter said.
In October 2012, he was inducted into the Allen County Historical Society as a famous Allen Countian, at the time just the sixth person to be so recognized. Oct. 13, 2012, was officially named "Gary Hawk Day."
During the event, his daughters and others spoke about his life. Then, Hawk explained how Allen County, the historical society and Iola all have played an essential role in his success over the years.
In his own words: "I know one thing for sure. None of this would have been possible if it weren't for Iola."


Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday, January 8, 2022, at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel in Iola, with burial to follow in the Highland Cemetery, Iola, Kansas. The family will greet friends at The Venue on Friday evening from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Masks will be required to attend the visitation and the funeral service.

Memorial contributions may be made to Allen Community College for Art Scholarship or to the Southern Coffey County Honor Flight.

You may send your condolences to the family at www.feuerbornfuneral.com .

Gary Hawk's funeral service can be watched here: https://vimeo.com/663139864
Gary Hawk's graveside service can be watched here: https://vimeo.com/663691977