Jean May Schneider was born on March 18, 1923 to Frederick Henry and Ella Daniels Schneider. She studied at McMaster University, graduating in 1943, and served as a photographer for the Royal Canadian Air Force during the remainder of the Second World War. She married Robert Hawkings on June 16, 1945, with whom she had three sons: Rob, Bruce and Jim. The family lived for a time in Deep River. She was an active member of the Church of the Good Shepherd (Kitchener) and the Deep River Community Church. Later in life she was involved with the Waterloo chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women. Hawkings died July 30, 2011 in Waterloo, Ontario.