Saturday March 9,1968 in El Paso, TX a beautiful baby boy, Andre Craig Taylor, was welcomed into this world. His parents, Henderson Hammitt Jr. and Vernedia Hammitt relocated to Baytown, TX when he was 3 years old. While there, Andre attended Alamo Elementary School, the great Cedar Bayou Junior High, Ross S. Sterling High School, and was a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church where he sang in the chidren's choir and played the drums. At Sterling, he was a member of the basketball and track teams, and was a proud graduate of the RSS class of 1986 (In the Mix!). Upon graduation he received the academic Presidential Achievement Scholarship to attend Texas A & M University College Station. Andre went on to school in College Station where he majored in engineering, made the cover of the school newspaper, and made life-long friendships. He later transferred to the University of Texas at El Paso to pursue his love of basketball. Known for his gentle, patient, caring, kind, loyal, funny, and encouraging personality, it was natural for Andre to meet people and establish meaningful relationships everywhere he went. He applied these traits in his professional life as he worked for years in call centers and as a quality assurance manager at Academy Sports and Outdoors. During his adult life he became a member of Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church and a satellite' member of From the Heart Church Ministries of Houston. He would need the teachings of these churches and his strengthened relationship with God to prepare for what was to come. In 2011, he faced the biggest challenge of his life when cancer was detected during an emergency appendectomy. Never afraid of a challenge, Andre was ready to fight. He endured chemotherapy, radiation, hospitalizations, and numerous surgeries. The whole time he continued to work, be present for his friends and family, and keep his faith firmly in God. In 2014 the cancer returned and was more aggressive. Andre geared up to fight once again and stood strong until the Lord called him home Sunday September 13, 2015. Before him, Andre's grandfathers (James Perry Jones, Earl H. Taylor, and Henderson Hammitt, Sr.), grandmothers (Claudia Taylor and Leona Hammitt), uncle Jerry Jones, and aunts (Verona David, Bobbie Ford, Lois Garner, Joyce Ann Wilks), were also called home. Those who remain to celebrate the life of Andre include his son Anthony Craig Jones, parents Henderson & Vernedia Hammitt, younger siblings Adrienne Tanner (Edward) and "Trey" Henderson Hammitt, III (LaQuisha), nieces Aleah Tanner, Jenna Hammitt, Kayla Hammitt, aunt Joyce Gates, uncle John Garner, special daughter Tia Ray, god brothers Jeffery Chenier and Roderick Flix, and a host of cousins in Baytown, Dayton, El Paso, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and even Japan. In addition to his family, numerous friends from his childhood, youth, and adulthood share his memory and will miss him dearly.
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