John Whiting Hammond

Major John Whiting Hammond, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and dearest of friends departed this earthly realm on November 6th, 2024, from Redding, California.

John, otherwise known as: Strong Like Bull, Baby Robin, Photographer Amongst Us, Better than the Average Bear, Hambone, Papa Orangutan, and The Most Interesting Man in Mazatlan, is survived by his wife, Gail; daughters Daria, Kateri, Suzanne, and Elisa; step-daughter Victoria; grandchildren Emily, Benjamin, Ines, Owen, Ethan, Milo, Griffin, and Quentin; siblings Sheila, Barbara, and Christopher; nephew Whiting; niece Tamara; mother of his four children Susan Hammond, and many, many loving cousins, friends, and Old Station community folks.

He is predeceased by his parents, Thomas “Bud” Hammond and Miriam O’Connell Hammond; brother Peter; wife Cindy Shaber Hammond; and partner Linda Goeden.

Life with John Hammond was a series of exceptional experiences, extraordinary circumstances, transportation disasters, and survival situations. As the father of four daughters and one stepdaughter, whom he referred to as “Favorite Sons,” dad insisted that life was, “not a fashion show, it’s a sporting event.” Despite, and perhaps because of this philosophy, life with him turned out to be mostly a fashion show, punctuated by feats of intense athleticism and repeated vanquishment of precarity. A grand, rollicking adventure, in other words.

Bigger than life, and part Grizzly Bear, John Hammond was the man in a neon paint-splattered snowsuit, Sony walkman, and cowboy hat carving flawless parallel turns down the face of almost any ski run. The equestrian autodidact who took up three-day eventing in midlife. Dad was also a champion roller coaster rider, and if one wasn’t available, he made his own. This was usually thrilling, but also resulted in some mishaps. John Hammond flew and then crashed lots of things - Montesa dirt bikes, Peugeot station wagons, horses, tree swings/limbs, and C-5 flight simulators. Actually, it was one of the Favorite Sons who crashed the simulator. But he was there and “in charge.”

John knew a whole lot about many things, plus a little about everything else. He was the bane of many a tour guide, but invariably took over the tours at Hearst Castle, in particular. Dad patiently (re)explained the physics of flight to nervous daughters every time we were on a plane together. If you were lucky enough to be stuck in a long line with John Hammond, you had yourself a new BFF - whether you wanted one or not. Everyone loved him. Except the tour guides. Shortly after his retirement from the Air Force, John took a job as a telephone customer service agent for Anthem Blue Cross. He did this not because he needed the job; he just loved talking to people.

John Hammond was made of music. A former Glee Club member and frustrated rock star, he could turn anything into a microphone or guitar, including spatulas, tennis rackets, brooms, riding crops, shoes, and toddlers. As was his father, John was possessed of a beautiful baritone singing voice. He could rock all the way out with the best of them. Dad was the guy who harmonized the ending bars of the Star Spangled Banner very, very loudly at every available opportunity. Some of us pretended we were embarrassed by this. We weren’t.

John Whiting Hammond was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 27th, 1946. He attended the Abbey School for boys in Cañon City, Colorado, class of 1964, and entered service in the United States Air Force following his graduation from Regis College in Denver, Colorado, in 1968. After a year as a pilot trainee, John served as an Air Operations Officer and Strategic Airlift General in Pilot Transport, followed by 16 years as a Flight Examiner and C-5 Pilot. He retired from service in 1989 with the following awards and commendations: Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Overseas Ribbon Long Tour, Air Force Training Ribbon, Vietnam Service Medal with 3 Bronze Service Stars, and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster. His Air Force Brats would not trade the experience of living all over the place and being perpetual “new kids” for anything. Dad’s service gave us the world.

John found a truly kindred spirit in his “Little Feller” Gail. They were blessed with seven years of loving, appreciating, and enjoying each other every single day. Together, they took care of three horses, two dogs, two cats, and Kipper, who is in a (canine) class by himself, in Old Station, California.

Memorial Mass to be held on December 13th at 10:00 AM, The Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Community, 115 W. Olive Ave. Redlands, CA 92373, followed by interment at 12:00 PM, Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd. Riverside, CA 92518. Celebration of Life immediately following at the home of Terry and Ellie Klenske in Redlands, CA.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the EQUUS Foundation.