Lewis J. Hammond, Jr. '49 died March 19, 2009.
Lewis J. Hammond, Jr. '49 died March 19, 2009.
Lewis James Hammond Jr., died March 19, 2009, at the age of 85. Lew grew up on Long Island, graduating from Garden City High School and Admiral Farragut Academy. Lew served four years in the naval air corps before entering Amherst.
Lew was a three-sport athlete at Amherst and received the Howard Hill Mossman trophy for athletic excellence. Though he was good at basketball and baseball, his best sport was probably football. When he graduated in ’49, the Amherst alumni newsletter said, “No Amherst athlete of recent years will be missed so sorely as Lewis J. Hammond Jr., of Garden City, New York . . . Anything involving coordination of arm and eye was Hammond’s specialty. Amherst will long remember what he could do with a ball.”
Lew was a member of DU where he roomed with Dave McNeish, Jack McKeon, Charlie Murphy and Ralph Gilpatrick. Involved with more than athletics, his little green Ford spent much time on the road to ‘Hamp after he met Nancy.
After graduating from Amherst, he worked in New York City for his father’s construction equipment business, which he and his brother eventually took over.
Late 1950-1990 Lew lived in Westport, Conn., with his family. An avid gardener, he also enjoyed wildlife and working the land. Ever the athlete, Lew cycled and played tennis into his 80s.
Lew and wife Nancy (Smith ’49) divided time between Nantucket and Florida. Lew’s keen interest in Amherst football resulted in his rarely missing the Amherst-Williams game. They enjoyed Class Reunions and seeing old friends from Amherst. Lew’s network of alumni friends was one of the pillars of his life.
He is survived by his wife Nancy, his four children (Jane of Manhattan; Holly of North Yarmouth, Maine; Jim of Seekonk, Mass.; and Bruce ’86 of Lyme, N.H.), and by his six granddaughters.
—Jim Hammond
—Bruce Hammond ’86
—Jack McKeon ’49