Honorable Rudolph N. Hawkins Jr. Superior Court Judge, Retired

The Honorable Rudolph N. Hawkins Jr., esteemed Superior Court Judge, passed away at age 90 on June 26, 2024, surrounded by his loving family.

Judge Hawkins was born in Princeton, NJ, and graduated from Red Bank High School, where he excelled in basketball and track. He continued to pursue his athletic passions at Lincoln University and later obtained both his undergraduate and law degrees from Seton Hall University. Admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1970, Judge Hawkins began his distinguished legal career as an Assistant Prosecutor with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

In 1977, Judge Hawkins was appointed to the Plainfield Municipal Court, where he presided until 1985. Governor Thomas Kean then appointed him to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union Vicinage, Family Division, focusing on Juvenile Court cases. In 1991, he became the Presiding Judge of the Family Division, a role he held with distinction until 1997. Judge Hawkins remained on the bench until his retirement in 2004. Following his retirement, he was recalled to serve from 2004 through 2013, during which he was assigned to Burlington and Middlesex counties to preside over Civil Commitments at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital.

Throughout his judicial career, Judge Hawkins was actively involved in numerous professional organizations, including the Conference of Family Court Presiding Judges, the Domestic Violence Advisory Board, and the Juvenile Intensive Supervision Program Redisposition Panel. He also served on the New Jersey Council of Family Court Judges and chaired the Union County Youth Services Commission.

Judge Hawkins was deeply committed to civil rights and community service. In the 1960s, he served as a Volunteer Sensitivity Trainer during racial tensions in Rahway and provided volunteer legal counsel for Concerned Citizens, advocating for the integration of Rahway Public Schools. He was an active committee member of the Rahway Community Action Organization, contributing to its war on poverty initiatives, and remained actively involved with the youth of Union County throughout his life.

A member of the Union County Bar Association and the Garden State Bar Association, Judge Hawkins was also a lifetime member of the NAACP, a Prince Hall Mason, a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, a proud Connecting Link with the Links Inc., and a loyal member of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens.

A devoted family man, Judge Hawkins enjoyed spending his summers in Martha’s Vineyard, where he could be found reading or playing golf. He is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years, Mary ‘Mary Lou’ Hawkins his daughter and son-in-law, Jade (Hawkins) and Frank Valdivieso, his only grandchild, Eden Valdivieso and his sister, Jean (Hawkins) Thomas of Willingboro. He is also survived by one brother-in-law, 2 sisters-in-law and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum, The Southern Poverty Law Center or the St. Labre Indian School.