DeLaney-Hawkins Rare Book Fund

This fund was established by Allen Y. DeLaney and Thomas Hawkins, Sr., in 1986 to support the acquisitions of rare books in the George A. Smathers Libraries.

DeLaney was born July 26, 1917, in Arrington, TN. He graduated from the University of Arkansas and Tulane University Medical School. He moved to Gainesville in 1953 and became Gainesville’s first board-certified surgeon as well as the Chief of Alachua General and Shands Hospitals. DeLaney also chaired the Alachua County Emergency Medicine Council and was a founding board member of the North Florida Regional Medical Center. He was instrumental in establishing the county’s first advanced life-support ambulance service. DeLaney was considered an amateur botanist, an avid sailor and a major contender in the fight to improve healthcare. DeLaney was also an eight-year veteran of World War II and the Korean War.

He passed away on March 25, 2004, and was survived by his four children and eight grandchildren, and by his wife of 25 years, Lou, and her two children.

Hawkins was born October 13, 1941, in Gainesville. He moved to Fort Worth, TX, when he was just 11. In 1963, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry/biology from Texas Christian University. He completed his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

After moving back to Gainesville, Hawkins served as president of the Florida Radiological Society in 1988. A U.S. Navy veteran, Hawkins was a fourth-generation Gainesville physician. He became a member and even served as president of the Alachua County Medical Society. Hawkins was also on the advisory board for First Union Bank and served as chief of staff of Alachua General Hospital. In 1996, he earned a master’s degree in business administration from UF. He and his wife, Mary Lou, have three children.