Prominent attorney Hawkins dies at 80

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 | 9:05 a.m.

Attorney Gordon Hawkins, a native Nevadan and author of a tax-slashing proposal, died Thursday after a long illness.

Hawkins, 80, had lived in Las Vegas for 60 years.

A memorial service has been scheduled 11 a.m. June 5 at Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Blvd.

Born in Winnemucca on Jan. 30, 1924, Hawkins was a debater in his years at Humboldt County High School. He was the son of District Judge Leslie O. Hawkins, who was a judge in Hawthorne for 17 years.

He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Nevada, Reno and attended the University of Idaho before earning a law degree from the University of Michigan.

Hawkins was known as the author of Question 6, a tax-slashing initiative petition that appeared on the ballots in 1978 and 1980, following on the heels of California's Proposition 13.

He said Question 6 "is like the Chinese who go to the doctor to prevent the sickness instead of going to the doctor after they get sick." The measure passed in 1978 but was defeated two years later. Proposed constitutional amendments must pass twice.

After Hawkins joined the Nevada bar, he joined with Howard Cannon, who later became a longtime senator from Nevada, to form the firm Hawkins & Cannon before joining the Clark County district attorney's office.

In 1953 he became a deputy district attorney under Roger D. Foley, who became a U.S. District Court judge for Southern Nevada. Hawkins was chief deputy district attorney from 1955 to 1958.

In 1959 he went back to Cannon & Hawkins.

From 1943 to 1946 he served in the Army during World War II and then again from 1950 to 1951 in the Korean War. He was decorated with a Purple Heart.

He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity as well as Phi Alpha Delta and Phi Alpha Theta organizations.

He was a member of the Board of Bar Examiners for four years, a member of the American Bar Association, the Nevada Bar Association and the Clark County Bar Association.

He was an active member of the local chapters of the Lions and Elks.

Hawkins is survived by a sister, Charlyn, and her husband, Harold Orel, of Lawrence, Kan.; sister-in-law Remoietta Hawkins of Las Vegas; stepsons Charles Garner and Forest Garner and stepdaughter Chris Slate, all of Las Vegas.