A loving generous soul, and just the nicest person anyone would ever want to know, Clare Hawes, 91, of Hadley, passed away peacefully on Friday August 27, 2021.

She was born on December 8th, 1929 in Bar Harbor, Maine to Austin and Clara Gooch. Clare was raised in Bar Harbor, graduated from Bar Harbor High School with the class of 1948, and from the University of Maine with a degree in Child Psychology in 1952.

She worked as a Service Representative at the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company in Ellsworth, Maine. Later she worked at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for 24 years.

She was active in the community throughout her life, serving in multiple positions including being a member of Young Homemakers, the Women’s Fellowship where she served as Secretary and Vice President, and a member of the Red Hat Society – Lady Bug Chapter in Hadley MA. Clare was a member of the First Baptist Church in Amherst MA where she served as a clerk for many years.

She was a Girl Scout Leader in both Brunswick Maine and Hadley MA, and was an avid Square Dancer, and a member of the SAGE Swingers of Topsham Maine and Jumptown Twirlers in Orange MA.

Clare loved reading, sewing counted cross-stitch, jigsaw puzzles and knitting. She was a volunteer at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital, donating her time and energy by knitting hundreds of hats for the newly born.

She left the corporate world after meeting her future husband, Virgil Hawes. Clare and Virgil married, in July of 1953, and moved to Ohio where they started their family. Their journey brought them to Massachusetts, then back to Maine for a short time, returning to Massachusetts to Hadley in 1969 to raise their family of four girls.

Clare is survived by daughters, Nancy Hawes of South Portland Maine, Mary Allen of Hadley MA, Karen Chauvin and her husband Lou of Gurnee IL, and Sarah Darling and her husband Roy of Greenfield MA. Clare’s husband Virgil passed in January of 2017. Clare is also survived by her brother Vaughn Gooch and his wife Suzanne of Chapin, South Carolina. At her death, Clare was predeceased by her brothers, Brison, and Alden.

Her greatest pride, joy and accomplishment was her family. She is survived by her grandchildren Rebecca Labonte (Zachary), Jason Chauvin (Ashley Smith), Katie Allen (Ryley Palmer), Rachel Ketchum (Eli), Kristen Chauvin (Nash Witkin), and Stacy Kurtyka (Kyle), step-grandchild Cathi Darling, and great-grandchildren Samantha, Kash, Dylan, Heather, Gavin, Reagan, Joel, and Sophia.

Services will be at 10:00 am at the First Baptist Church of Amherst MA on Wednesday September 1. There are no calling hours. Please note that masks are required in the town of Amherst.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the First Baptist Church of Amherst MA, or the Friends of the Goodwin Memorial Library of Hadley MA.

Memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com