Aura H. Reeves

Aura Curran Hammond Reeves, 98, died peacefully on July 24, 2020. She was born in her family home on Nov. 9, 1921, to Edith (VanOrdstrand) and Amos Clarence Curran. She was the youngest of 3 sisters and 4 brothers. She grew up close to the railroad tracks in a small town. Aura was salutatorian of her West Chicago High School class and is believed to be the last surviving member of the WCCHS class of 1939. After high school, she held several secretarial jobs and worked at the local draft board. In 1945, she married Max Hammond, and they shared a happy life with their five children. After Max’s death in 1966, she took on the role of both mother and father, lovingly raising their children. In 1993, she married Jack Reeves, and in 1995, they moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is survived by her children Marcia (Gordon) Basichis, Maxine Dashu Hammond (Nava Mizrahhi), Kirk Hammond, Joan (John) Zeiger, and Julie Hammond, and a stepson, Paul (Susan) Reeves. Also surviving are 6 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Her loves included her children and grandchildren, music, travel, good food, old movies, her hometown, her friends, and in later years, the Chicago Cubs and the Indianapolis Colts. People were drawn to her warm personality. To her children, she will be remembered as the very definition of what love looks like. Due to COVID restrictions, a memorial service will be planned at a later date. Arrangements entrusted to D.O. McComb and Sons Covington Knolls Funeral Home.