Last ride remembers Leechburg man's adventurous life

Scottie Joe Hawkins got one last ride on his truck Tuesday.

Family and friends hoisted his casket onto the flatbed of the tractor-trailer Hawkins used to make his living, repurposing it as a hearse to take him to his final resting place. A special platform was built onto the flatbed for the single purpose of holding the casket.

“They all got together and put it together for him,” David Hawkins, Scottie Joe’s father, said of the platform.

Outside Ross G. Walker Funeral Home in New Kensington, loved ones had decorated the front of Hawkins’ truck to complement the special platform.

Hawkins of Leechburg died June 22 from injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash in Allegheny Township. He was 32.

“He was full of life,” David Hawkins said. “Always adventurous — always. If there were wheels on it, he’d want to ride it.”

A service for Hawkins was held Tuesday morning. Following the service, Hawkins’ truck led a procession to the cemetery.

Family and friends engineered the truck flatbed to accommodate the casket, instead of a hearse. Black and purple banners and daisies wrapped around the truck. Purple was Scottie Joe’s favorite color, his father said.

Scottie Joe Hawkins was co-owner of Hawkins Trucking LLC. He enjoyed racing sprint cars and riding motorcycles, said his mom, Christina Hawkins.

“He got his CDL in three weeks and his own truck,” she said.

The Hawkins family loved racing, hence a checkered flag draped over the casket.

Tragically, it wasn’t the first unique funeral for the Hawkins family.

Hawkins’ brother, Brandon D. Hawkins, 26, himself a sprint car driver, preceded Scottie Joe in death four years ago. He was remembered then with a sprint car inside the funeral home and a final lap at Lernerville Speedway.

Scottie Joe’s son, Ryder, who was 4 when he passed away two years ago, loved the character Lightning McQueen. A toy Lightning McQueen was on the truck flatbed in remembrance of Ryder, Christina Hawkins said. The family recently got Lightning McQueen tattoos, she said, as a permanent remembrance of Ryder.