Kelly Hammond was born in Hope Hull, Alabama on July 28, 1926. In the summer of 1942, he met Betty Lou in summer school and fell in love. In April, 1944, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific Theater mostly on Naval Advanced Base, Samar Island in the Philippines. After Japan’s surrender, Kelly was honorably discharged before his 20th birthday and returned to Betty Lou, his schooling, Auburn and Pharmacy School. Betty Lou and Kelly started their 69 years of marriage on August 12, 1949 in Montgomery, Alabama.
After a brief stint in retail pharmacy, Kelly joined Eli Lilly and Co. where he proudly served in sales and management positions for 35 years climbing the corporate ladder with stops in Chattanooga, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Dallas, Scottsdale, Los Angeles and San Diego before retiring in Rancho Santa Fe, California. In his “retirement”, he joined his wife and daughter Kim to help them run the incredibly successful Hammond Studio of Dance in Solana Beach for nearly 3 decades.
Kelly attended Betty’s funeral on January 19, 2019. He missed her terribly and wanted to be with her. He joined her 24 days later. He is survived by his three children Michael (Mary) of Lymington, England, Kim (David) of Carlsbad and Kevin (Tiffany) of La Costa as well as 7 grandchildren – Alex, Sarah Kelly, Taylor, Cooper, Kelly W., Audrey and Ruby each of whom were Popo’s favorite.
A true gentleman has departed and will be sorely missed.
