Gertrude Jones Hawk

Gertrude Jones was born in 1903 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, to Gomer and Ellen Jones. Her father died when Gertrude was 12 years old and her mother suffered from a severe heart condition. In order to help support her family, she took a job in a candy shop, where she learned how to make chocolate. According to her grandson David Hawk, "My grandmother [Gertrude] was only able to complete the eighth grade... and there was no thought of going on to college. The best thing she could do was to learn a trade. So she worked at several of Scranton's small candy stores and learned the craft of chocolate-dipping."

Gertrude married Elmer Hawk in 1922, and they later had two sons, Elmer R. and Richard.

In 1936, during the Great Depression, Gertrude began making chocolates from the kitchen of their home in the Bunker Hill section of Scranton in order to supplement the family's income. After returning from service in World War II, her son Elmer R. Hawk joined the family business and invested in the purchase of mechanical chocolate-making equipment.

In the 1940s Gertrude greatly expanded their home chocolate production by creating and promoting fundraising sales among local area schools, civic associations and churches. Her visionary fundraising alliances allowed the company to go beyond direct sales and advertise among a broad section of the local community, thus increasing profits considerably, to over $125,000 per year by 1959.

In 1959, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation took over Gertrude's home for the construction of a bridge over Interstate 81. As a result, the family purchased land in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and built a chocolate factory, full-service restaurant and retail store that opened in 1962. Over the next 25 years, the company's business expanded and required multiple additions to the original factory building. The restaurant was converted into a candy shop in 1973. Gertrude and her husband Elmer continued to live in an apartment above the chocolate factory until their deaths.

Gertrude officially retired from the company in 1962, but continued to visit the factory floor and help pack chocolates for a few years. In 1979, Elmer bought out his parents' share in the company and served as president and CEO Gertrude Hawk Chocolates from 1979 until 1992, when the position was taken over by his son, Gertrude's grandson, David Hawk.

Elmer Hawk Sr. died in 1981. Gertrude Hawk died in 1987. According to her obituary, Gertrude was a member of the Myrtle Street United Methodist Church and the Business and Professional Women's Association.

Elmer Hawk Jr. died on October 18, 2013, at 89 years of age.