Editor’s note: This story was updated on May 4 to correct the age of Lynne Smith and correctly reflect a quote from Judy Dawkins.
Mornings come early for Judy Dawkins.
Sometimes she is up at 5 a.m. Sometimes she’ll sleep in until the clock strikes 6:30, and by then there’s no time to tarry.
Judy Dawkins, 85, is a woman living life with a purpose.
“The first thing I do is my devotional for about 15 or 20 minutes,” she said Thursday. It was already a busy day with a military appreciation luncheon at Fayetteville State University and then a military ambassador’s dinner at Fort Bragg. “I exercise for one hour. It’s low impact aerobics. Then I have a bowl of cereal and one cup of coffee.”
She puts on her makeup and coifs her hair.
There are people to see.
There are places to be.
“I keep my calendar on my phone,” she said.
You’ll find her somewhere almost every day. It might be at a Hilltoppers meeting at her beloved Snyder Memorial Baptist Church. Or a meeting with her Pine Needles Garden Club. It could be celebrating with birthday club friends. Sundays are for 9:45 a.m. Bob Ervin Sunday School class and then the 11 a.m. traditional service at the Westmont Drive church, where she has been a member since 1959 and serves as a deacon. When not attending the traditional service, you may find her at the 8:40 a.m. contemporary service with her grandchildren.
Or it could be a meeting of the Fayetteville Airport Commission.
“I just got appointed again by the City Council,” she said of what now is her third term.
Early to rise is nothing new for Judy Dawkins.
“Well, I worked all my life,” she said, counting six years as a civil service executive administrative assistant at Fort Bragg and 25 years with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Ramsey Street, and then 10 more as executive director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program in Cumberland County. And not to forget her time with the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, when working as director of its Military Affairs Council before retiring in 2016 at age 75.
Son-in-law Ken Smith has an apt description.
“She’s like the Energizer Bunny,” he said about the television mascot for Energizer batteries that just keeps going and going and going.
He’s not alone in his observation of his mother-in-law.
“The Energizer Bunny comes to mind,” said daughter Anita Herring, 63, who lives in Greensboro. “I can’t believe it. She’s always been energetic, and she’s committed to a healthy lifestyle.”
No argument from younger sister Lynne Smith.
“She wears me out,” said Smith, 61. “She always had energy, even when I was young. She doesn’t miss anything. She enjoys life to the fullest. She is quite incredible.”
From Dunn to Fayetteville
Juanita Wheatley Dawkins grew up with her two sisters in Dunn, where they were reared by their grandmother, aunt and uncle. She found her way to Fayetteville when she met Frank Dawkins at White Lake in Bladen County.
“We got married in Dillon (South Carolina) on November 23, 1957,” she said.
It was a happy life and a blissful marriage.
Where you saw Frank Dawkins, you saw Judy Dawkins. Where you saw Judy Dawkins, you saw Frank Dawkins.
The centerpiece of their lives were their daughters, sons-in-laws, grandchildren, and Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, where Judy Dawkins was chair of the church’s 70th anniversary in 2019. It also was the year when Judy Dawkins lost the love of her life. Charles Franklin Dawkins died at age 80 on October 4, 2019, and it broke Judy Dawkins’ heart.
“We were married 62 years,” she said.
She always remembers him on her Facebook page on special occasions, including his September 18 birthday.
“I don’t want anybody to forget him,” she said.
People to See, Places to Be
The memories of a husband still beat in her heart as Judy Dawkins continues on in life.
Afterall, there are people to see.
There are places to be.
And her Lord and Savior to praise.
“I have seven different devotionals—two in the morning, three in the afternoon, and two before I go to bed,” she said. “I never take an afternoon nap, and I don’t sit in an easy chair until after 8 o’clock at night.”
Mornings bring another day.
“She just keeps going throughout the day,” Lynne Smith said about her nonstop mother.
Judy Dawkins says she lives life with a purpose.
“I am trying to be an example to others, especially my grandchildren,” she said. “I’m lucky enough to have lived this long,” and Judy Dawkins has no plans to change her ways. “I’m going to do it as long as my health allows.”
Judy Dawkins is a petite woman with unbridled stamina and vitality.
She’s never smoked a cigarette, and she doesn’t partake of alcohol.
“Exercise is my wind,” she said.
All who know Judy Dawkins will tell you she’s a woman to admire.
“She literally goes somewhere every day,” Anita Herring said about her mother. “I am very proud of her for putting herself out there. She is quite incredible.”
Lynne Smith shares her sister’s admiration.
“She serves and gets things done,” she said. “I’m blessed to call her my mom. I respect her greatly and I love her.”
Epilogue
For Judy Dawkins, there’s no time for daytime naps and no time for dawdling.
“We’ve got to do something for our grandchildren,” she said. “This is home, and we have to think about those coming after us. Fayetteville to me is whatever you want to make it. To me, I choose to think of the glass as not half empty. I choose to think of the glass as half full. I don’t have the financial resources that some have, so I choose to give my time, and that’s why I volunteer. And that’s what I want for other families. I just love how this town has accepted me, and I just love this town.”
I’d tell you more about Judy Dawkins … but Judy Dawkins had somewhere to be, and there was no time to tarry.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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