Dean Hammond's Obituary
Heaven welcomes one of the few remaining members of the Great Generation. Captain Dean Arthur Hammond, Sr., 95, passed away peacefully at his home on August 24, 2014. Born May 27, 1919 in Winfield, Kansas, to Dr. Roscoe Brant Hammond and Pearl Inez Hammond, Dean was the youngest of three children. He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Mary Margaret McGuire Hammond. Their love for the Lord and for one another continues in the legacy of their family. They have three children—Deidre Curtis, Barbara Owen and Dean Hammond, Jr., 9 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.Dean’s love of flying has provided him with an adventurous and accomplished life. He served his country as a volunteer pilot and charter member of Group 10 of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) from October 1942 to August 1943, in Beaumont Texas. The pilots of Group 10 successfully provided vital air coverage for the oil tankers leaving the refineries of Port Arthur and Beaumont. Their mission was to escort American oil tankers safely around the tip of Florida and into the open sea, protecting them from German U-boats and submarines. American merchant ships were being attacked by the submarines at the rate of one a day.The CAP awarded 50 Air Medals to these brave men for their outstanding performance of duty protecting the Gulf of Mexico. Colonel Hammond of the CAP flew over 350 hours and was one of those brave men who earned the Air Medal for this significant contribution to the war. He continued to serve his country in the Army Air corps until 1945.In civilian life, Mr. Hammond was a pilot for private corporations until 1955 when he was employed as a commercial pilot. Captain Hammond retired from Northwest Airline in 1980. In 2006, Mr. Hammond was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award by the Federal Aviation Administration for over 50 years of flying without an incident. Less than 900 of these awards have been presented by the F.A.A. Captain Hammond stopped logging his flying hours at 25,000 hours.In his retirement years, Dean enjoyed a different aspect of flying. The ground always looks normal to a pilot when he is looking down on it. At age 92, he had outlived most of his flying buddies, so he joined the Memphis Soaring Society. He spent hours sharing his flying experiences with the younger pilots while he took lessons to learn to soar in gliders.Dean’s first love was for his Jesus and the Word of God. He was an active member of the Young at Heart Ministry at Kirby Woods Baptist Church. A man of many facets, mentor, friend, and wonderful husband and father, father-in-law, grandfather and great grandfather, he will be sorely missed, not only by his loving family, but by countless others whose lives he has touched.In spite of his many accomplishments on this earth, Dean realized that only two things make it into heaven…the Word of God in your heart and the souls of men. His earthly gifts supported both. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that Memorial Contributions be made to Wycliffe Bible Translators or the Warrior Center, a ministry of Bellevue Baptist Church.Wycliffe Bible Translators P.O. Box 628200 Orlando, FL 32862 Enclose a note that the gift is in Memory of Dean A. Hammond, Sr. for the support of Durk Meijers, a friend of Dean’s who is serving in South Africa..The Warrior Center 634 Semmes Street Memphis TN 38111 901-405-1298 You may donate online www.warriorscenter.orgAll services for Dean A Hammond Sr. will be conducted at Memorial Park Funeral Home 5668 Poplar Avenue Memphis Tenn 38111 (901-767-8930) on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at 11:30 AM with Reverend Joe Jernigan of Bellevue Baptist Church officiating. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends at 10:30 AM prior to the service.Those who wish may view the Memorial Page and sign the online guest book on this site.Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, “Behind the Stone Wall.”
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