Obituary of Rosemary Hawthorne

Rosemary (Atkerson) Hawthorne was born on May 18, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from the union of the late Mary (McFadden) and Richard Atkerson. Rosemary was the younger of two siblings. Growing up, Rosemary attended Claghorn Elementary School and William Penn High school. At a young age she dedicated her life to the Lord at Wayland Baptist Church, where she attended regularly with her family. She was united in marriage to the late Claybon Hawthorne Sr, and three children were born to the union. She worked as a billing clerk at Temple University for a number of years. Rosemary, then, attended Temple University and acquired a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She completed her career working for several non-profit organizations in payroll administration. She was also a dedicated and honored member of the Most Royal Grand Court of Cyrene, an Auxiliary of The Knights of Templar. In 2011, following the passing of her mother (Mary) and daughter (Deborah), Rosemary moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to be closer to her eldest son (Robert) and grandchildren. She resided in Hopside Senior Apartments and became a member of Oasis of Hope Baptist Church. There, with passion, she served as the treasurer of the Oasis of Hope Dollars for Scholars scholarship committee, and volunteered with the tax preparation ministry. Rosemary was artistic, and enjoyed traveling, crocheting, knitting, sewing, baking, decorating and acquiring collectibles, namely piggy banks and figurines. She often shared the filled banks with her grandchildren, made crafts with them, and loved to teach them skills to be cherished life-long. On January 27, 2023, God called Rosemary home, where there is no pain, nor burden of a tear. She is preceded in death by her husband, Claybon Hawthorne Sr, and her beloved daughter, Deborah (Hawthorne) Cisse. Rosemary leaves to cherish her brother, Richard Atkerson; Sons, Robert (Charlotte) and Claybon Jr (Yvette); Grandchildren, Yvonne (Dare), Yolanda (Anthony), Aaron, Robert Jr (Bernadette), Charles, Kayla, Kendall, LaTasha, Shaneka, Elena, Markita, Mark, Ciara, Tytianna, and Sakiah; and her Great-grandchildren, Jasmine (Tobi), Joshua, Yara, and Anthony Jr. She also leaves a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, church family, friends, and other loved ones. In lieu of flowers, please make a tax donations to: Oasisofhope.dollarsforscholars.org To encourage the educational dreams of young people from our community.