Former Texas A&M-Commerce athletic director and chair of the Physical Education Department, Dr. Jesse J. Hawthorne passed away on Saturday.
The funeral service for Dr. Hawthorne will be on Wednesday, November 11 at 11 a.m. at the First Methodist Church in Commerce and the visitation will be held on Tuesday night from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Jones-Walker and Son Funeral Home in Commerce.
Hawthorne joined the faculty in September 1951 and was named the Chair of the Physical Education Department and Director of Athletics in 1953. He served in the dual capacities for 31 years until his retirement after the 1984 academic year. While in leadership, the Lions won five national titles and won or shared 47 Lone Star Conference titles.
Among his many accomplishments included induction into the Lions Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 and selection into the Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor in 1996.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Dr. J. J. Hawthorne Scholarship Endowment Fund (c/o Foundation Office, A&M-Commerce, PO Box 3425, Commerce, TX 75429) or to the TAHPERD Foundation (7910 Cameron Road, Austin, TX 78754) or to the Commerce Lions Club (PO Box 424, Commerce, TX 75429).
