Charles W. Hammond

Charles (Chuck) William Hammond died on August 21st , 2015 at 6:30 pm. He was 86. He is survived by his wife Nancy Jane (Richards) Hammond, sons David and Jonathan, daughters Kathleen and Susan, granddaughters Jorden, Claire, and Audrey, and brother Donald Bruce Hammond. Chuck was born September 19, 1928 in Portland, Oregon to parents Charles Dwight Hammond and Nita Marie Hammond. He grew up in Los Angeles, California and attended Frank Wiggins Trade School on a scholarship, where he studied commercial art. He worked for a grocery store chain in Los Angeles making signs and displays. In the early 50s Chuck served in the Air Force at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona. He designed the graphics painted on the fuselage and wings of the original Thunderbird jets—the Air Force’s flying demonstration team. Chuck was a devoted husband and father. He met Nancy Jane Richards at First Christian Church in Phoenix, Arizona, while stationed at Luke Air Force Base. He married Nancy in 1958. The couple had four children. In 1968, Chuck left his supervisory position at the sign and display shop of a large grocery store chain to successfully run his own sign and display business, Chuck Hammond and Associates, until he retired in 1993. Chuck was an accomplished fine artist as well as sign painter. He taught art workshops and published a weekly workshop newsletter for more than 20 years. One of his classes was a portrait workshop that met every Saturday morning until 2009 at the Community Center in Los Alamitos, California. A man of service and faith, Chuck taught youth classes at his church, held home Bible studies, and served as an elder. One of Chuck’s many creative projects was Gospel Graphics; this sideline included decorative gift items including plaques and cards. A Funeral Service is scheduled for Chuck on Friday August 28, 2015 at 1 pm at Greenwood Memory Lawn Chapel at 719 N. 27th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85009.