Oregon Daily Emerald, OR
March 7 2005
Community gathers to remember Hatoon
The Saturday memorial commemorated a woman who “lived life her own
way” and lived happily
Ayisha Yahya
News Editor
March 07, 2005
She will be remembered for her entrancing stories. Her bursts of
humor. Her bright lipstick.
She will also be remembered for her caring nature. The insights she
brought to those whose paths she crossed. Her intellectual spark and
the many lives she touched over the years because she lived her life
just as she wanted.
Students, faculty and community gathered on a sunny winter afternoon
to pay tribute to Hatoon Victoria Adkins. Adkins, a long time
resident at the campus, was killed on Tuesday as she was crossing
Franklin Boulevard on her bicycle. Most recently, Adkins, 67, had
made her home on a bench just outside the University Bookstore, where
she covered her things with a blue tarp. In the days since her
demise, Adkins’ bench has evolved into a shrine with flowers, candles
and tubes of lipstick, which she loved.
Eugene Police Officer Randy Ellis, who knew Adkins for many years,
said she taught people everything from tolerance to vulnerability to
caring.
“We learned that we’re not invincible,” Ellis said, adding that the
impact Adkins had on those who knew her was evident from the
outpouring of love since her death.
“We wanted what was best for Hatoon, but only Hatoon knew what that
really was,” Ellis said. Ellis said Adkins, who was known for her
many diverse stories, taught people to listen. “Listening is
something that few of us really know how to do,” Ellis said.
Ellis said Adkins’ life was not a failure. “She lived life her own
way,” he said.
Adkins suffered from mental illness — those who knew her described
her as drifting in and out of lucidity. Ellis said Adkins made her
own choices and was able to surround herself with a family of
friends. She did not consider herself homeless or mentally ill, Ellis
said; she had a home right there outside the bookstore.
“We should not allow her life or her memory to be devalued by these
meaningless labels,” Ellis said.
Before Adkins’ death, Ellis had been talking with the University to
try and arrange a trailer for Adkins to live in. And over the years,
many different people had taken her into their homes for short
periods of time.
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Marcus Larson | Freelance photographer
Poppe, an acquaintance of Hatoon Victoria Adkins, bows his head in a
moment of silence during Adkins’ memorial service outside the Knight
Library on Saturday. Adkins, 67, died at Sacred Heart Medical Center
from injuries sustained after she was struck by a motorist March 1.
———–
University Bookstore General Manager Jim Williams also knew Adkins
for many years, saying she was a “good neighbor” — she often helped
the bookstore staff take out the trash each morning.
He described her as a magnificent, if somewhat complex woman. “Hatoon
was not really homeless … she just chose not to live cooped up
inside a building,” he said.
Adkins was not a regular face just at the bookstore. She was often
seen at the Knight Library, and she once lived outside it. Many also
crossed paths with her at the Student Recreation Center where she was
a regular patron. Those who worked out with her or saw her exercising
remember her strength — one man said she could easily “outpress 15
frat boys any day.”
“She was my role model for working out,” Tevina Benedict, who helped
organize the memorial, said. “We all need to keep our bodies strong.”
“That chick was buff,” said Professor Emeritus of English Ed Coleman,
who knew Adkins for 30 years.
Adkins was also a regular visitor at Blue Heron Bicycles on 13th
Avenue, where she became close friends with Kerri Vanden Berg. Vanden
Berg said Adkins was quite conscious of people’s belief or disbelief
in the things she said. After many long conversations with her
throughout the years, she said Adkins “began to make perfect sense.”
“So many times, you put my own life into perspective,” she said at
the memorial service. “I missed you today, I’ll miss you tomorrow. I
am blessed.”
Many others recalled Adkins’ concern for them. She would ask about
their health or about their children, tell them how nice they looked,
share her thoughts and opinions. Adkins was born April 30, 1937, to
parents of Armenian descent. She is survived by a sister, son,
daughter and granddaughter. In a letter, read by Williams, the family
members expressed how much they would miss her.
“Never one to hold back opinion, Hatoon encouraged open hearts and
open minds,” the letter said.
Referencing Robert Frost’s poem “A Road Not Taken,” Ellis said Adkins
had taken the path less traveled and all people should try to do the
same.
“Decide to be happy; make others happy,” he said. “Do not wait for a
better world; make a better world.”