Fern Louise Hawley

Fern L. Hawley, 90, of Suttons Bay, passed away peacefully May 26th, a beautiful spring day.

Fern was born on November 29, 1926, in her family home in Leland, Michigan, the daughter of George and Ellen (Brown) Steffens. She was raised in Leland, graduating from Leland School in 1945.

In 1960, Fern and her family moved to their farm on Stony Point in Suttons Bay. She was very proud of her farm. She always had a beautiful garden and flowers, especially her gladiolus, which many ladies stopped to buy each summer. She was also known for her delicious raspberries that she also sold every summer. Most of all, everyone who knew her loved her homemade pies. She often paid people who helped her out with a fresh baked one. Fern eventually sold her farm to her daughter Karen and her husband Mark. She wanted to see it continue being farmed. She passed on knowing its in good hands. It is now known as Cherry Beach Orchards.

Fern was the ultimate church lady. Her father helped build the church she grew up in, crafting the beautiful oak alter. Immanuel Lutheran Church in Leland was dedicated in 1926, the year she was born. She was one of the first babies baptized there. Over the years all of her children were baptized and confirmed there. She taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, participated in Ladies Aide, bowled on the Lutheran League, helped with coffee hour and many other things. It was very rare to not see her sitting in a pew on Sunday. When her grandkids were little, she took them to church there all summer.

Fern loved life and was very active. She enjoyed bowling, golf, traveling to the Holy Land , which was the highlight of her life, playing cards with her Pinochle Pals and the Euchre Club, spending time with her family, volunteering at the Suttons Bay Bingham Public Library where she most likely held the record for most books read by one person and working in her gardens. She especially enjoyed traveling to Naval Station Norfolk to see her granddaughter Melissa when she was stationed on the USS Harry S. Truman. Seeing that ship made her the proudest grandma alive.

Fern is survived by her children, Karen (Mark) Drake, Randy Hawley and Jim Hawley, grandchildren Melissa and Joshua Drake and Megan Hawley and her best friend and neighbor Gretta Brooks.

She was preceded in death by her parents, two infant siblings, brothers Bob, Leonard, Fred, and Bruce Steffens, sisters Dorothy Weesner, Marie Kalember, Shirley Kalember, Elaine Couturier and Eleanor Taylor and daughter Sandra Burkholder.

The family would like to thank the staff of Traverse Victorian Senior Living and Heartland Hospice for the loving care they gave to Fern.

Fern's life will be celebrated Wednesday, June 7th, 2017, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Leland. Visitation is at 10:00AM, service at 11:00AM and a luncheon following the service all at the church. Fern's ashes will be interred on the family farm next to her daughter Sandra.

Memorial contributions in Fern's memory may be directed to The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 5228, Traverse City, MI 49696 and The Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517.