In the community

Obituary: Delores (Dee) Hammond

Delores (Dee) Lafferty Hammond

November 3, 1932— March 24, 2023

Delores (Dee) Lafferty Hammond, formerly of Willowcreek, Oregon, peacefully passed away at Pioneer Place Assisted Living, Vale, Oregon. She was born on November 3, 1932, at home in Tuthill, South Dakota with her twin brother, Don, which was on the Pine Ridge, Oglala Sioux Reservation. She also had three older brothers, two older sisters and they all grew up together and roamed the Sand Hills of South Dakota.

Dee attended Holy Rosary Mission Boarding School, and always looked forward to the summers at home.

She started working in Igloo, South Dakota, at the U.S. Ordinance Depot where she met her husband, Jack Hammond. They married on December 24, 1952. Soon after they married, they moved to Harper, Oregon, with their two sons, John and Alan in 1957. They ended up in Willowcreek around 1963. She started college at TVCC and received her LPN license while working and went on to get her RN in 1983.

Dee worked at Holy Rosary Hospital in Ontario, OR for 35 years. She also enjoyed helping on the farm with her husband and two sons, John and Alan, also taking time to attend their ball games and rodeos.

She was a loving and caring mother and grandmother She will be greatly missed and remain in our hearts forever. She loved and cared for her patients and devoted bridge players. May she be dealt a good hand in heaven.

Dee is survived by her husband Jack; her son and daughter-in-law, John and Marsha Hammond;

grandchildren, Beau and Natalie Hammond; plus many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her son Alan, parents, four brothers and two sisters.

A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held on April 20, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Valley View Cemetery on Valley View Road in Vale. Please join us for a lunch at the Catholic Parish Hall, A Street, Vale, after the service.

Thank you, Pioneer Place for all your care, Dr. Brett Johnson, and all her friends. Condolences may be made to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, under the Haren-Wood Funeral Chapel.

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