Paula Hawkins

Paula Fickes Hawkins (January 24, 1927 – December 4, 2009) was an American politician from Florida. To date, she is the only woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida. She was the first woman ever elected to the Senate from the South and the first in the country ever elected to a full Senate term without a family connection. 2Early years Hawkins was the eldest of three children born to Paul and Leone Fickes in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father was Naval Chief Warrant Officer. In 1934, the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where her father taught at Georgia Tech. Her parents split when Paula was in high school, and Leone and the children returned to Utah. She finished high school at Richmond, Utah in 1944, then enrolled at Utah State University. Paula was hired to be the Athletic director's secretary and met her future husband. On September 5, 1947, Paula Fickes and Walter Eugene Hawkins were married and moved to Atlant