{"id":84114,"date":"2026-06-26T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=84114"},"modified":"2026-06-26T07:28:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T11:28:37","slug":"hawthorne-richard-skip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/26\/hawthorne-richard-skip\/","title":{"rendered":"HAWTHORNE, Richard ‘Skip’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Richard \u201cSkip\u201d Hawthorne. He passed away peacefully at Lady Dunn Health Centre, Wawa on Monday, June 15, 2026 at the age of 82 year with family by his side.<\/p>\n

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Born and raised in Conlig, Northern Ireland, Richard was the youngest and last surviving member of the original Hawthorne clan. Following in the footsteps of his older siblings, he immigrated to Canada in 1972 to begin a new chapter in his life. Although he returned to Ireland for a brief period, Canada ultimately became his home, where he built a life defined by hard work, friendship, generosity, and an unwavering love for people. It was here that he spent the remainder of his years, surrounded by family, friends, and countless cherished memories.<\/p>\n

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Richard was the beloved father of Michael Hawthorne, Karen Sullivan (Clifford), Kevin Hawthorne (Kirsty), and Tanya Hawthorne. He is survived by his wife and lifelong friend, Lorna, of Ireland, and was predeceased by his dear friend and former partner, Carole. Both remained treasured friends and important parts of his life. He was the cherished \u201cPapa\u201d of Molly, Maisie, Darcy, Ellie, Quinn, Lucy, Max, Mya, Lexie, and Liam of Ireland, and the proud \u201cGrandpa\u201d; of Brielle and Ava of Espanola. He was the beloved son of the late James and Mary Hawthorne and was predeceased by his brothers Harry (Jeanie), Jim (Bev), Hugh, Tommy, Artie (Theresa), Johnny (Edna), and Robert, as well as his sister Edith (Billy). Richard was a much-loved uncle and great-uncle to many nieces and nephews, including the late Debbie Montreuil (Cassandra), Kathleen and Al (Nicholas, Alex, and Patrick), Richard & Tanya (Samantha and Aiden), James (Charlotte), Carol (Abigail and Jessica), Kathleen & Brian (Natalie and Alex), Sarah & Ray (Lewis, Emma, and Alex), the late Wayne Smith (Tara, Teela, and Tyson), Gayle (Regan and Demitria), Glynis & Tim (Cody, Wade, and Rikki-Lee), and Jeffrey & Sam (Kelsey). He was also a proud great-great-uncle to many more and will be fondly remembered by his extended family throughout Canada, Ireland, and England.<\/p>\n

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After arriving in Canada, Richard built a successful career with Sears Canada, where he worked for many years. Never one to shy away from a challenge, he later ventured into entrepreneurship as the owner of Cheers Bar & Restaurant. His passion for hospitality, however, began much earlier at Caproni\u2019s Ice Cream Parlour in Northern Ireland, where he learned the value of hard work, customer service, and community. Also known as Caproni\u2019s Ballroom, renowned throughout Northern Ireland for its dances and live music, it was a vibrant gathering place, and Richard played an important role behind the scenes, helping to book entertainment and providing opportunities for many young showbands that would later go on to great success.<\/p>\n

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Whether through his work, his businesses, or simply his larger-than-life personality, Richard had a remarkable gift for bringing people together. He took pride in seewent ands succeed, made friends wherever he went, and had a way of making everyone feel welcome. Many stories were shared over the years\u2014some humorous, some heartfelt\u2014and all were made better by Skippy\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Retirement never truly suited Richard. He loved packing his supper and heading off for his night shift at the Algoma Motel, where he became a familiar and welcoming face to guests and coworkers alike. His genuine interest in people, warm sense of humour, and gift for conversation turned customers into friends and coworkers into extended family.<\/p>\n

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At the end of each evening, he could be counted on to make his daily rounds of phone calls, touching base with family and friends near and far. Staying connected to the people he loved was one of his greatest joys. Afterward, he would settle in with a Guinness or a hot toddy before heading to bed.<\/p>\n

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To know Richard was to love him. He had a quick wit, a generous heart, and an extraordinary ability to make people feel valued. He was a loyal friend, a trusted confidant, and someone who was always willing to lend a helping hand or share a laugh. Behind the twinkle in his eye was a deep kindness and quiet generosity. He often helped those in need without seeking recognition, freely giving his time, support, and friendship to anyone who needed it. Richard will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing him. Though he is gone from our sight, the memories, stories, laughter, and love he shared will live on in the hearts of those who loved him.<\/p>\n

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The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staff of the Sault Area Hospital and Lady Dunn Health Centre in Wawa for the compassionate care and kindness shown to Richard throughout the past several weeks. A special thank you is extended to his family physician, Dr. Matt Breton, whose dedication, support, and exceptional care meant so much to Richard and his family. The family would also like to express their sincere appreciation to Richard\u2019s dear friends Ann, Jackie, Rejeanne, and Dave. Thank you for sharing precious final memories with Richard and for the kindness, generosity, friendship, and support you provided to both him and his family during a difficult time. Your care and compassion will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Honouring Richard\u2019s wishes, there will be no formal funeral service. Family and<\/p>\n

friends will gather at a later date to celebrate his life, with details to be announced. Cremation has taken place, and now Richard will make one final journey home to Northern Ireland, where he will be laid to rest alongside his beloved mother.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May he rest in peace, reunited with those who went before him, and forever remembered by those he leaves behind. \u201cTill we meet again!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Arrangements entrusted to Kerry Funeral Home, Wawa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Richard \u201cSkip\u201d Hawthorne. He passed away peacefully at Lady Dunn Health Centre, Wawa on Monday, June 15, 2026 at the age of 82 year with family by his side.   Born and raised in Conlig, Northern Ireland, Richard was the youngest and last surviving …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":84115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,2663],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-obits"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-03 11:45:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84116,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84114\/revisions\/84116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}