Harvest House Publishers founder R.H. "Bob" Hawkins Sr., a widely respected figure in Christian publishing, died Feb. 9 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 87.

Hawkins received the Lifetime Achievement award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) and the Life Impact Award from CBA. Hawkins was instrumental in the establishment of ECPA, serving several terms on its board and was its president from 1985 to 1986.

ECPA President Mark Kuyper said Hawkins "was a visionary in Christian publishing whose role in developing Christian authors, publishing Christian books and leading ECPA remains a profound legacy for our industry," adding: "We are grateful to God for the calling he was obedient to. He will be missed."

Writing on his blog, literary agent Chip MacGregor noted that Hawkins helped develop The Christian Reader, was instrumental in launching the careers of James Dobson and Tim LaHaye, was the salesman "who almost single-handedly made The Living Bible successful," started Harvest House Publishers and "created countless, good Christian books." MacGregor added that it was "hard to list all of his accomplishments in Christian publishing."

Hawkins--who worked as vice president of sales and marketing for Tyndale House Publishers in 1965--started Harvest House Publishers in Irvine, Calif., in 1974 at age 52, working out of his garage and a small office, company officials said. Within two years, four Harvest House titles had sold more than 100,000 copies. Hawkins moved the company to Eugene, Ore., in 1981 because of the quality of life he envisioned it would offer for his staff.

In 1991, Hawkins, then 69, turned over the reins of the company to his son, Bob Hawkins Jr. Harvest House best-selling author Stormie Omartian said Hawkins was "a man of integrity, an ambassador of good will, a messenger of peace, a kind-hearted soul. ... One who loved many and was much loved in return."

Hawkins is survived by his wife of 56 years, Shirley, three children and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Feb. 23 in Eugene, followed by a private burial. Click here to see the Harvest House memorial page.

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