Enterprises in 1997. She was a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Health In a freak accident, a television studio partition toppled and struck her in early January 1982 during an interview at WESH-TV in Winter Park, Florida. While not life-threatening, the mishap aggravated a back injury she suffered years before in an automobile collision and caused constant pain which plagued her during her years in Washington. Senator Strom Thurmond, in his capacity as President pro tempore, gave her the use of a room in the Capitol building for a hospital bed where she found pain relief under weighted traction during breaks between congressional activities. Hawkins' right side was paralyzed in 1998 as the result of a severe stroke. After this, she used a wheelchair. She stayed active, appearing on October 1, 2009, at the opening ceremony of the Waldorf Astoria Orlando at Walt Disney World. She died on December 4, 2009, of complications from a fall she suffered the previous day. Electoral history 1978 Florida Governor/Lt.Governor Bob Graham/Wayne Mixson (D), 56% Jack Eckerd/Paula Hawkins (R), 44% 1980 Florida U.S. Senate Paula Hawkins (R), 51% Bill Gunter (D), 49% 1986 Florida U.S. Senate Bob Graham (D), 55% Paula Hawkins (R), 45% See also Women in the United States Senate References External links |- 1927 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Florida Latter Day Saints from Georgia (U.S. state) Florida Republicans Female United States senators Latter Day Saints from Utah Politicians from Salt Lake City People from Maitland, Florida People from Winter Park, Florida Politicians from Atlanta Republican Party United States senators from Florida Utah State University alumni Women in Florida politics Latter Day Saints from Florida 21st-century American women