Frances Hawkins

Frances Hawkins passed away peacefully on June 30 at Hallmark Nursing Center in Denver. She was 97. She was preceded in death by her father, Francesco Pullano, and mother, Vienna Pullano, and eight of her 12 siblings. Fran passed away on the same day as her beloved daughter-in-law Betsy Hawkins. She is survived by her sisters: Virginia Roberts, Mary Ann Buccino, and Barbara Jean Fioravanti; sons Lee (Doris), Paul, and Barry (Denise); 20 grandchildren and 46 great-grandchildren; and numerous nephews and nieces.

 She was born Frances Bernice Pullano in Denver on March 29, 1927, and was the sixth of 12 children. She attended Bryant Webster Elementary, Horace Mann Jr. High, and graduated from Denver North High School in 1944. She married Dale Hawkins on April 11, 1947, at Mt. Carmel Church and they were married for 20 years.

Fran worked for a time at Barnum Publishing, and later worked at Petroleum Engineering, helping to compile oil well data, and for over a decade at Denver General Hospital, first in the cashier’s cage and later in the business office. She retired from the hospital in 1989.

She was very artistic and displayed her talents through crocheting and a wide variety of crafts projects. Fran loved going to Black Hawk and playing bingo, and enjoyed watching sports on TV, especially football. Her spaghetti sauce, rigatoni, sausage, and meatballs were legendary and the family’s first choice for every holiday.

Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 10am, Mount Carmel Catholic Church, 3549 Navajo Street, Denver, followed by interment at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

Following the interment a Memorial Reception will be held at Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, 4005 Kipling Street, Wheat Ridge.