He attended a four-room grade school in Annis for eight years and then Midway High School for three years, which burned down. Then the school district consolidated and he graduated from Rigby High School in 1950. He was very active in Future Farmers of America and even won a gold award in Livestock Judging at Nationals. He lettered in football and played right guard. He loved learning to dance all the dances like the foxtrot and waltz. His family went on many camping and fishing trips and he also enjoyed hunting. As a youth he took on the challenge to read the Book of Mormon. On Sunday afternoons he would sit up in a cottonwood tree in a secluded area and read about Nephi, Captain Moroni, Alma, Mormon and Moroni who became his heroes.

After high school, he was called to the Central Atlantic States Mission and served in North Carolina and Virginia. One of his companions talked him into writing his sister, Ruth. So after his mission he went to see her. Six weeks later they were engaged. Marriage was put off as Jesse was drafted into the army at the end of the Korean War. He had eight weeks of basic training and eight weeks of mechanical training. He was fortunate to be sent to the Panama Canal Zone where he took care of the regimental motor pool.

Jesse and Ruth were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on June 17, 1955. After renting a place for two years and working with his dad, he bought the old Burke place in Annis, Idaho. It was a run-down old farm with about 50 acres that could be farmed. The first year was not so great, but they continued to improve that farm until it was very productive. He started a dairy with four cows and kept increasing the herd until he decided that he didn’t need to grow potatoes anymore. They also increased their family and were blessed with eleven children: Steve, Tom, Laird, Ben, Rosanne, Corey, Marla, Myra, Coreen, Rochelle and Laura.

In 1976 he moved his family, farm equipment and household to Canada. He bought a beef ranch from the Bowers in Bull River, British Columbia. He was immediately impressed by the neighbors, especially the Mallard boys who showed up to unload the truck, and by the church members who welcomed the family so warmly. The first years on the ranch were not so productive but, as before, hard work by all the family kept it going. In 1996 he sold the ranch to Laird and Ben and continued to enjoy working on the farm for as long as he could.

Throughout his life Jesse worked hard for his family and for his community. In Annis he was elected as a director on the Upper Snake River Valley Dairymen’s Association. He also served seven years as a scoutmaster which he really enjoyed, especially the 50-mile hikes. As a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he held various positions throughout his life. He served as the branch president in Jaffray, then on the district council and the high council when the stake was organized. He served as a bishop in Cranbrook. Then for almost forty years as the stake patriarch where he gave over 500 blessings.

In 2003 his wife, Ruth, died and he said that she had been an inspiration to him all their life and it was his desire to live well enough to be with her through the eternities. He did not like being alone and married Nancy Brown in 2007. After she passed away he married Linda Popplewell in 2013. They were divorced in 2019.

Jesse’s life, influence, love and legacy will bless his posterity and friends forever. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edith and Jesse Merrill Hawke; by his wife, Ruth Hawke; by his wife, Nancy Hawke, by his sister-in-law, Barbara Hawke; by his son, Steven Hawke; by his son-in-law, Brad Reed; by his grandson, Jared Hawke and by his great-great grandson, Beckham Norris. He is survived by his children: (Deborah Reed), Tom (Cheryl) Hawke, Laird (Debbie) Hawke, Ben (Summer) Hawke, Rosanne (Jay) James, Corey Hawke, Marla (Dan) Reynolds, Myra (Brian) Dyck, Coreen (Shawn) Hammer, Rochelle (Bruce) Christensen, and Laura (Mark) Beazer; 49 grandchildren; 76 great grandchildren; and 3 great-great grandchildren.

Funeral service will be held Saturday, January 3, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2240 Jaffray Shop Rd, with a viewing for family and friends prior to the service from 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. Interment will follow in the Sand Creek Cemetery.

mcphersonfh.com