For immediate release
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, October 4, 2004 — LFCU remembers Will Hawkins, who died at the age of 90 on September 28. In 1937, Willis Hawkins graduated from the University of Michigan, drove to California, got a job with Lockheed Aircraft for a starting salary of $1,500 a year, and became one of the founding members of the brand new Lockheed Federal Credit Union.
Hawkins’ career with Lockheed spanned nearly 50 years, during which he contributed directly to some of the company’s most notable successes. Hawkins oversaw development of Polaris, the U.S. Navy’s first sea-launched ballistic missile, and lead the team that developed the C-130 Hercules airlifter, a plane that still flies today in over 67 countries.
When LFCU was founded in 1937 the United States was in the midst of The Great Depression, and the economic state of the country was bleak. However, World War II was on the horizon and the employees of Lockheed were developing planes that the United States would use when it entered the war several years later, a move that was credited with helping to end the Depression. LFCU was shaped by these early years and helped its members enjoy the economic prosperity that followed. Employees like Hawkins were not only important players in the landscape of aeronautics and defense, but they were pioneers in the fledgling credit union movement.
Last year Hawkins attended a luncheon at LFCU honoring founding members. During the luncheon he said, “Lockheed stayed with me and I stayed with Lockheed all that time. We had some really great adventures when we started, out there on Empire Avenue.”
Willis Hawkins and Dave Styler, LFCU President & CEO, at Luncheon honoring LFCU’s Founding Members in November 2003.
