Our Staff

Brant Hawkins

Funeral Director / Preneed & Monument Specialist

Brant was born and raised in Bridgeport, Texas.  He graduated Bridgeport High School in 1985 and attended Texas Tech University 1985 to 1988 and graduated from Dallas Institute of Funeral Services in 1989.

In 1991, he married Stacey Breeze, who is office manager at Hawkins in Bridgeport.  They have 2 children, Tiffany Hawkins and Raby Hawkins. He is also the brother of Rob, a director at Hawkins and the late Bert Hawkins.

His funeral service career started at the age of 4 when his father and grandfather ran the ambulance service, they removed the rear view mirror so he could stand in the seat while making calls.  

"My licensed practice started in 1989 as the 4th generation of the Hawkins Family funeral services and the caring for families till the present date. My caring for families is a type of ministry, helping families through troubled and difficult times."

Rob Hawkins

Funeral Director / Aftercare, Preplanning & Insurance

Rob was born and raised in Bridgeport, Texas. He attended and graduated Bridgeport High School, attended Texas Tech University and graduated Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in 1981. In 1980, he became the fourth generation of his family to serve Wise County in the funeral business.  

Rob is a licensed mortician and General Lines Insurance agent (Life, Accident, Health and HMO). He currently offices at Hawkins Funeral Home in Decatur and lives next door to the funeral home.

Rob's two sons both work in the family firm. Trey Hawkins is a funeral director at Hawkins Funeral Home in Decatur and Chase Hawkins is business administrator  and funeral director who offices at the Bridgeport location.  Rob also enjoys his four grandchildren, Camryn, Hollyn, Carter and Hazel Jane.

Rob is a member of the First Baptist Church in Bridgeport, the Decatur Lions Club, an avid hunter, fisherman, gardener and cook, as well as a do-it-yourselfer.  He enjoys scuba diving, deep sea fishing and is an instrument rated private pilot. 

Rob has made himself available to those he serves 24 hours a day, please do not hesitate to contact him.  

Email: 

Trey Hawkins

Funeral Director / Preneed & Monument Specialist

Trey was born in Decatur, Texas and raised in Bridgeport. He graduated Bridgeport High School in 2002, attended Texas A&M University and graduated from Dallas Institute of Funeral Service is 2005. Trey started helping his father, Rob Hawkins, work funerals when he was 13 years old, making him the 5th generation in his family to help care for Wise County in the funeral business.

Trey has 3 children, Hollyn, Carter, and Camryn. He serves as a licensed mortician, preneed agent and monument specialist.  He lives in Decatur and offices at Hawkins Funeral Home in Decatur, along with his mother and father.

Trey served as a long time board of director on the Decatur Chamber of Commerce. He also likes to hunt, play numerous sports, coach basketball, and spend time with his family.

Email: 

Chase Hawkins

Business Administrator ~ Funeral Director

Chase was born and raised in Bridgeport, Texas to Rob & Von Hawkins. He graduated from Bridgeport High School in 2006 and Baylor University in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. In 2017, he came to work for Hawkins as the bookeeper and then graduated Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in 2018.  Chase joined his brother Trey as a fifth-generation member of his family to serve Wise County in the funeral business. 

Chase currently lives in Bridgeport and offices at Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport, along with his Aunt and Uncle, Stacey and Brant.  Having grown up surrounded by talented funeral directors, he now looks to become one himself with hopes to continue the Hawkins' legacy.

He is happily married to Randee Landers Hawkins and has a daughter, Hazel Jane Hawkins, who was born in 2016. Chase is an avid cyclist, CrossFitter and all-around health guru and foodie.

Email: 

Chester D. “Chet” Niblett

Funeral Director / Pre-need and Monument Specialist

Chet was born and raised in Decatur, Texas.  He began his career in the funeral business in 1979 while attending Decatur High School where he graduated in 1983. Upon graduation he served an apprenticeship at Shannon’s Funeral Home, Northside Chapel, in Ft. Worth. After attending and graduating from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in 1985, he continued with the Coker Funeral Home until it was purchased by the Hawkins family in 2007, where he has been serving the families of Wise and surrounding counties for more than 37 years.

Chet is a licensed funeral director, embalmer and pre-need agent in the state of Texas.

Chet married Elaina M. Oates in 1984, after getting settled in on their small farm outside of Decatur, two sons were born, Colton and Cruz Niblett.  

Chet is a member of the Decatur Church of Christ, is a leader in the American Cancer Society- Relay for Life and active in the Decatur Youth Fair Buyers Association.  Chet is a Past President of the Decatur Rotary Club and a Charter Member of the Decatur FFA Alumni.  He has served on the Decatur Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.  

When Chet is not working he enjoys hunting, fishing, working around the farm and raising registered Longhorn cattle.

Roy Hagelin

Funeral Director

Roy was born and raised in Caldwell, New Jersey. As a 3^rd generation Funeral Director, Roy grew up living above his family’s Funeral Home. Growing up being around Funerals and Funeral Services, it was only a natural progression to follow his father’s footsteps and continue the family tradition to serve the surrounding communities. Roy graduated high school in 1984 and went to Fairleigh Dickinson University followed by American Academy McCallister Institute of Funeral Service. Roy has over 40 years’ experience helping Families Celebrate the Lives of their Loved Ones.

In January of 2021, Roy and his wife Charlotte relocated to Decatur, Texas to escape the North East Winters. After working at Funeral Homes in Fort Worth and the North Texas Region. Roy joined the Hawkins Funeral Homes, in February of 2023 where he is a Licensed Funeral Director and Monument Specialist. He offices in the Bridgeport location.

Roy is involved in the Bridgeport and Decatur communities through the Chamber of Commerce.

Away from work, Roy loves spending time with his wife Charlotte and his daughter Christina who is in school to follow in Dad’s footsteps and become a 4^th Generation Funeral Professional. Roy has 4 dogs and enjoys spending time working around his home whether it’s cutting the lawn, tending to his yard, DYI projects and travel.  

Email: 

Josh Johnson

Funeral Director

Josh was born and raised in Sedalia, Missouri. When he was twelve he moved to Denton, Texas and graduated from Billy Ryan High School in 2009. After serving a two year mission for his church he met his wife Haley and got married in 2012. Josh started in the funeral industry in 2016 and graduated Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in the Fall of 2018.

Josh enjoys spending time with his wife and their three boys, Kays, Zeke, and Sy. He will play about any sport and loves being a sports fan. He also enjoys reading and musical theater.

Josh is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is currently serving on the regional Youth Committee. Josh is also a member of the Lion’s Club and Habitat for Humanity Committees.

Clay Murphree

Funeral Director

Clay Murphree was born in Decatur in 1985. He graduated Decatur High School in 2003, then graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service in June of 2019. Clay received his Bachelor’s Degree in Strategic Business Administration in May of 2021, and also became an educator and embalming instructor at the Dallas institute of Funeral Service.

Clay says the road that lead him to the funeral home has been long and winding through many job fields, but feels that funeral service is where he belongs.

“I believe serving families in this role is an honor certain people were born to do.  It takes special people to work in the funeral service, and I am thankful to be one of the few who are able to serve those in their most trying times.”

Clay married his wife Michelle in 2006, and together have four children: Mady, Matthew, Micah, and Monica.

In his spare time, Clay enjoys time with his family boating on the lake, camping, and keeping up with any type of mechanical work.  Clay is also an avid Jeep enthusiast who enjoys spending time out on the trails. Clay currently assists families in the Bridgeport, Boyd, and Decatur locations.

Fred Raney

Director's Assistant

Fred graduated from Liberty High School, Liberty, Texas, in 1964.  He completed his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, Waco, Texas in 1973 and his master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, in 1976.

He married Linda Tyler in 1966.  They have 2 children.  Donna lives in Ponder, Texas and Mike lives in Palm Springs, California.

Fred and Linda are members of First Baptist Church, Alvord, Texas.

He served for 50 years as a pastor in Southeast Texas and a missionary to the Dutch Caribbean. 

Since retiring in 2012, Fred has served as interim pastor for 6 churches in the southeast Texas area and worked for 5 years at Farmer Funeral Home, Silsbee, Texas, as assistant director.

He enjoys volunteering in the community and is currently a member of the Alvord Fire Department.

He has received specialized training in the areas of transitional and interim pastor; emergency medical service; fire service, critical incident stress management; and disaster relief work.

Fred holds the Master Level Certification Fire Chaplaincy with the Federation of Fire Chaplains and is a member of the Texas Corps of Fire Chaplains.

He was recently recognized as the 2017 VFW National Firefighter of the Year.  He mentions this only because of the high honor of being recognized by a group he considers his heroes, those veterans who gave all to enable him to do what he loves to do.

Fred and Linda are also happy to be only 35 minutes away from their 2 grandchildren as opposed to the 6 hours three months ago.

Terry H. "Señor" Stewart

Funeral Director Assistant

Terry H. "Señor" Stewart recently retired from a thirty-four year teaching career in May of 2019 as a teacher of Spanish.  Of those years, twenty years were happily spent at Decatur High School in the Decatur ISD.  "Those twenty years were filled with building strong relationships within the community that I cherish." 

"I love my new experiences with the Hawkins family because it allows me to continue a valuable service of compassion within the community on a different level.  I look forward to being able to offer a kind gesture and word when someone needs it and being of service to such a fine community."

Kerry Clower

Director's Assistant

Kerry is a lifelong resident of Alvord.  He grew up milking cows on the family dairy farm. He started working at Alvord National Bank during his senior year at Alvord High School and worked there for the next 33 years—retiring as Alvord Branch President of Legend Bank. He received three banking diplomas from the American Institute of Banking in Fort Worth. He was voted an Honorary Alumnus of Decatur Baptist College in 2015.

He started working at Hawkins Funeral in the late 1970’s by assisting Bert and Bobby Hawkins with music at funeral services.  After retiring from the bank, Trey invited him to start working at Hawkins Funeral Homes by assisting with the services.  He also worked for a while at Karl Klement Ford, but retired there and came back to Hawkins Funeral Homes.

Kerry has served as a musician at local Baptist churches for about 50 years and was pianist for 17 years for The Glory Express quartet while they were traveling and recording. He has served on the Alvord City Council and the Alvord School Board.  He works with several Wise County Historical preservation groups and is the Chair of the Wise County Historical Commission.  He also assists with the cemetery boards of 5 local cemeteries. 

Audrey Reyna

Office Administrator-Decatur, Bridgeport, Boyd. Monument, Pre-need & Insurance Specialist. Bilingual

Audrey was raised in Cottondale and attended school at Paradise. She attended Texas Wesleyan University before starting her career in Healthcare Administration.  Audrey has always known servicing others is where her heart was. She worked in the Healthcare/Dental fields for over 25 years before joining our family at Hawkins.

She returned to Cottondale in 2016 with her husband Albert as empty nesters. They have five children, Kevin, Cecilia, Daniel, Jocelyn, Maribel, and eight grandchildren. Audrey and husband Albert enjoy their little farm and the peacefulness of country life. Audrey enjoys gardening, camping, traveling, horseback riding, cooking, and creating projects on the farm for Albert to complete.

"After being in healthcare for more than 25 years and seeing the changes that have come to pass, the career move to Hawkins gave me a more personal and supportive opportunity. I have great admiration for Hawkins directors and staff for the way they care about the families that entrust them. I love my part in Hawkins Funeral Home and cherish the opportunity to serve the families of our community."

Telephone: 1-940-683-2211

Email: 

Von Hawkins

Office Manager - Decatur

Von is the mother of Trey & Chase Hawkins, directors here at Hawkins.  She graduated Bridgeport High School in 1979 and became a licensed cosmetologist.  After several years, she found her calling as a florist and began working with Reba Jewel Hawkins at Sarah Jane''s Flowers in Bridgeport while also doing hair at the funeral home.  She eventually sold the flower shop but never stopped working in floral design and home decor.

Von, with the help of Sue Meek, was instrumental in selecting and decorating Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport.  In January of 2019, she began working as an office assistant in Bridgeport full time and quickly moved up to office manager in Decatur.

At her current position, she has successfully found a passion for helping people and caring for others.

Telephone: 1-940-627-5959

Email: 

Stacey Hawkins

Office manager ~ Bridgeport

Stacey Hawkins was born in Bridgeport, Texas in 1971 to Ronnie and Cathy (Chapman) Breeze. She is a life-long resident of Bridgeport and loves the town, her community and the people that live here.

After she graduated Bridgeport High School in 1990, she married Brant Hawkins in 1991 and they have 2 children, Tiffany Hawkins 27 of Spring, Texas, and Raby Hawkins, 24 of Lake Bridgeport. She has one sister, Nicole.

Just out of high school, she started work for her grandparent’s oilfield business and was with them for over 25 years. In 2020, she transitioned full time to Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport where she is the office manager.

Stacey enjoys golf, cooking, reading, shopping for antiques, and above all, spending time with her family.

Telephone: 1-940-683-2211

Email: 

Mady Murphree

Office Manager- Boyd

Mady was born and raised in Decatur; although she did graduate Bridgeport High School in 2017.

In 2019, she began working for Hawkins as an office assistant.  Currently, she is the office manager in Boyd.

Mady is currently attending Dallas Institute of Funeral Service to become a licensed Mortician.  She is the daughter of Clay Murphree, who is a director here at Hawkins.

Judy Elder

Executive Assistant

Judy was an only child, born into a service family growing up, moving around the United States, starting in New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, several towns in Texas, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Washington state and now back to Texas. She graduated from Mount Rainier High School in Seattle, Washington and dove straight into her career. 

Judy has 45 years of experience working in numerous types of business, starting in the shipyard and now with Hawkins Funeral Homes, and always in the office. She is a licensed Notary Public for the state of Texas. She loves office work and at times does not know when to take a break!

While working for the church she became a world traveler and lived in Sophia, Bulgaria for two and a half years working with building a church bible school.  New to the Boyd-Bridgeport-Decatur area having moved here in August 2019 she is not accustomed to the heat yet, having come from Seattle, and definitely not the “tornado warnings!”

William Brooks

Funeral Director Assistant

William was born and raised in Decatur, Texas. He graduated from Decatur High School in 1998 and Oklahoma Baptist College in 2002 with a degree in Music/Secondary Education. In March of 2018, he joined the Hawkins family in serving Wise County in the funeral business.  

He is happily married to Jessica Brooks, who is a stay-at-home mother and home-schools their 8 children: Dylon, Elayna, Micah, Mackenzie, Kelton, Analee, Silas, and Carlynne. He enjoys spending time with his family; as they are involved in sports in the community.

William currently serves as Pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Decatur where he and his family spend time loving people and reaching the community.