Bretta Hawkins’ smiling face and helpful manner were known to legions of co-workers in the Renton Police Department and to the public who sought help and advice from her at the department’s front counter at City Hall.

Her death Saturday night at Harborview Medical Center after she was attacked with an ax at her mother’s house south of Orting Friday is more than a professional loss to her co-workers, said Commander Paul Cline, a department spokesman.

“It was a personal loss,” he said. Hawkins, 33, had worked as a police specialist for the department for seven years.

Also killed in the attack was Hawkins’ mother, Barbara Nettlebeck, 52, a corrections officer with the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention.

As a police specialist, Bretta Hawkins, who was single, often dealt with distraught members of the public who come to the front counter for help, according to Cline.

The specialists also are busy working with officers in the field, including checking for warrants, and doing data entry, among myriad tasks, he said.

What Cline and others will remember, too, was the smile on Bretta’s face.

“She is just one of those people who can brighten up your day,” said Cline. She was always more than willing to help someone out, he said.

“She is going to be missed,” he said.

A memorial service for Bretta Hawkins and her mother is planned for 11 a.m. March 24 at the River of Life Fellowship, 10615 S.E. 216th St., Kent.

The service is being coordinated by the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention and the Renton Police Department.

The family has asked that donations be sent to Pierce County Humane Society, King County Animal Care and Control or the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

In a statement, the two police agencies said they “would like to express their appreciation to everyone in the law enforcement community and beyond that has offered their condolences and support during this difficult time.”

The estranged husband, Charles Walter Nettlebeck, pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of aggravated murder and is being held on suicide watch in the Pierce County Jail without bail. Prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether they will seek the death penalty in the case, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

According to charging papers in Pierce County Superior Court, Charles Nettlebeck told investigators that he and Barbara Nettlebeck had a garage sale on March 13 at their residence. At about 6 p.m., they were inside the house talking about their impending divorce.

Bretta Hawkins was outside feeding the horses. According to documents, Bretta sent a text message to a friend at 7:08 p.m., stating that he (the defendant) was still at the residence and if he didn’t leave within 15 minutes, she was going to leave.

Charles Nettlebeck told investigators that his estranged wife said something to him, then he picked up an ax and swung it at her head, killing her. He then went outside and swung the ax at Bretta Hawkins’ head. The ax was found near her body.

He told investigators he tried to hang himself after killing his wife and stepdaughter.

According to court papers, an order Barbara Nettlebeck had obtained against her husband restrained her husband from “molesting, assaulting, harassing or stalking Barbara Nettlebeck.”