Lillian Hawthorne, 88, died on Feb. 20, 2013, in Brooklyn, New York. Professor emerita and assistant dean for student affairs at the USC School of Social Work, Hawthorne, MSW '71, is credited with transforming the school’s field education program, the first to conceptualize field experience as pedagogy.

After her retirement in 1986, she remained active in social work, developing a graduate social work program at California State University, Channel Islands; restarting the National Association of Social Workers' Ventura County chapter, giving community lectures, co-founding Temple Ner Ami in Camarillo, Calif.; and publishing three books on aging – Finishing Touches: An Insightful Look into the Mirror of Aging; Sisters and Brothers All These Years: Taking Another Look at the Longest Relationship in Your Life; and Husbands and Wives All These Years: From Caring to Caretaking.

For her achievements, Hawthorne received the Social Work Lifetime Achievement Award, Ventura County; “Woman of Valor” Award, Temple Ner Ami; and is listed in “Who’s Who in American Women” and “Who’s Who in Mental Health Professionals.”

She was married for 65 years to Edward Hawthorne and is survived by daughters Barbara Probst and Fran Hawthorne, and four grandchildren.