South Dakota husband and wife both die of cancer on the same day
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The South Dakota EMS worker, 58, and his ‘soul mate’ wife, 52, die of different forms of cancer just 10 hours apart, two days before Christmas, leaving their three children devastated.
- Steve and Wendy Hawkins died at the same hospital on December 23.
- They had different forms of cancer, but died within 10 hours of each other.
- Steve was the EMS administrator for Yankton County, South Dakota.
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A married 50-year-old South Dakota couple died of cancer within 10 hours, two days before Christmas, leaving their three children distraught.
Steve Hawkins, 58, and Wendy Hawkins, 52, died of different types of cancer at the same hospital in Yankton within 10 hours of each other on Friday, family members said.
Steve had been battling cancer for five years, while Wendy died after a shorter illness, according to a declaration confirming the Yankton County EMS deaths, which Steve had monitored since 2009. It’s unclear what type of cancer each of them had.
The couple had three children, all in their 20s, who were stunned by the loss of both parents just two days before Christmas.
Married couple Steve Hawkins, 58, and Wendy Hawkins, 52, died of different types of cancer at the same hospital in Yankton, South Dakota, 10 hours apart on Friday.
“This has been a very tragic experience,” his son Trenton Hawkins wrote in a GoFundMe Appeal to raise money for funeral expenses. ‘They were wonderful parents and took very good care of [their] family.’
Steve’s sister, Kathy Hawkins-LaFollette, wrote in a Facebook post that Steve and Wendy were “the truest definition of soulmates.”
‘For their children to lose them at such a young age. I can’t even imagine it,” she added.
Hawkins-LaFollette said her brother and sister-in-law had different types of cancer, but did not provide further details.
She said the couple died 10 hours apart at the same hospital, which an obituary identified. like Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton.
Steve Hawkins was a Yankton County EMS Administrator. He previously worked as a paramedic in Cody, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, and San Diego.
Prior to taking the top position in Yankton as an EMS administrator, Steve worked as a paramedic in Cody, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park.
He began his paramedic career in San Diego, according to Yankton County EMS.
“Wendy was a devoted wife and mother who stayed home to raise her three children, Brad, Mandi and Trent,” the service said in a Facebook post.
Mandi and her fiancé live together in Iowa, while Brad and Trenton live at their home in Yankton, according to the publication.
A joint memorial service for Steve and Wendy will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Yankton in the spring of 2023. A specific date has not yet been set.