John Hawley

January 19, 1952 – March 24, 2022

John D Hawley of Socorro passed away at home on March 24, at the age of 70 years. He is survived by his brother, Michael C Hawley of Indiana, his sister-in-law Heidi, and eight nephews and nieces.

John was born in 1952 and spent his growing-up years in several towns throughout the western states, as his father was with the U.S. Forest Service. In these years John developed a lifelong love for nature, science, and the environment. The forest also impacted his gentle spirit and lead him to always be open, welcoming and generous with his attention and his belongings.

John graduated from New Mexico Tech in physics in 1974. He worked with the Crystal Ball Collaboration at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in Palo Alto, California, and at Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center of Palo Alto, where, among many other things he wrote imaging software for new and amazing X-ray photographs of the sun. For several years, John was the hardware lead on the ranging system of the Airborne Laser defense system, which was among the highest performing subsystems of that huge project.

After retiring from Lockheed, John moved to Socorro, New Mexico and lived with closest friends Candace Lindquist and Richard Sonnenfeld in a rambling house on the Rio Grande. “Uncle John” was much beloved also by their sons Thaddeus and Cody, and contributed his own passions for fantasy gaming and science fiction to their lives. On John’s passing, Thaddeus commented, “A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he always leaves precisely when he means to.”

John Hawley’s memorial service was held on Saturday, April 2 in Socorro.

 

El Defensor Chieftain