Fayetteville man honors late wife with coat giveaway
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Michelle Graham-Hawkins , 46, was beloved by the Fayetteville community.
A Ben Martin Elementary School teacher, who had won Cumberland County's Teacher of the Year award twice in her two decade career, Hawkins was known for her dedication to the community.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer on Sept. 25, 2013. She died less than four months later on Jan. 3, 2014.
"No one ever smoked in our house," said her husband, Eugene Hawkins. " I don't smoke. She don't smoke. No one ever smoked in our house. To receive that news on Sept. 25 that she had lung cancer, it just blew me away."
Eugene Hawkins will honor his wife this weekend by giving away hundreds of coats at the Seabrook Recreational Center.
Shortly after Michelle's death, Hawkins had to begin emptying her closet. When he was looking for a place to take her coats, a friend gently suggested the giveaway.
He began calling friends, businesses, Hawkins's school, and "Beans 103 Coat Giveaway" was born.
"Beans" was Michelle's nickname, and the through community support, more than 500 coats have been donated.
The giveaway takes place at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Hawkins, alongside his wife's friend K.P. Peterson, unloaded some of the latest donations Friday morning. He said he'll also feature a speaker to raise lung cancer awareness.
"I want to be more aware of lung cancer myself because I don't even know," Hawkins said. "You never know until something happens to someone you love or know, where you can be aware of something and that's what I want -- to be aware of it -- and make people aware of it."
