Biography

09/30/1918 - 12/31/1988

Freeman Hankins (D7) Philadelphia County, 1967-1988

Early Life: 

Freeman Hankins, born September 30, 1918, Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia; son of Oliver and Anna Pyles Hankins; married Dorothy Days Hankins, 1939, daughter Bernadette; education, Friendship Academy, Pittsburgh; attended, Selden Institute;  H. E. Dolan College of Embalming, Philadelphia, 1945; attended, Temple University, 1947-1950; served, United States Army Medical Corps, World War II, 1945-1947; funeral director, 1953-1988; chair, 6th Ward Democratic Executive Committee; 2nd Vice Chair, Philadelphia Democratic Committee 1971-1976; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1961-1967, resigned, November 29, 1967; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate Special Election, 1967-1988; appointed, board, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) 1981-1988; not a candidate for reelection, 1988; died, December 31, 1988, heart, University of Pennsylvania Hospital, city of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; interred, Fernwood Cemetery, Yeadon, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. (i)

Early Career:

Funeral Director, Hankins Funeral Home, Haverford Avenue, Philadelphia, 1953-1988.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Metropolitan Baptist Church; member, American Legion, Masons; member, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), member, National, Pennsylvania and Keystone Funeral Directors Association.

Trustee, Lincoln University; Board Member, Minority Business Development Authority; president, Rafter Charities.  

Pennsylvania Politics:

Chair, 6th Ward Democratic Executive Committee; 2nd vice chair, Philadelphia Democratic Committee 1971-1976.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1961-1967, resigned, November 29, 1967.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate Special Election, 1967-1988; Chair, Senate Prison Inquiry Commission 1973-1976; Chair, Insurance Committee; Minority Chair Banking and Insurance Committee, 1980-1986; Minority Chair Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, 1987-1988; Caucus Administrator, 1987-1988; member Appropriations and Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committees; appointed, board, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) 1981-1988; not a candidate for reelection, 1988.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=1366&body=H

Cited: 

Doukas, O. (Ed.). (1987-1988). The Pennsylvania manual, Volume 108. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 80 and page 101.

         (i) Philadelphia Inquirer Monday January 2, 1989, Page 5