Gary Michael Hammon
A Memorial Service honoring the life of Gary Michael Hammon, 73, of Redmond, Washington, will be held at Grace United Methodist Church in Ruston, on Saturday, March 12, at 10 a.m.
An informal visitation will take place after the service in the sanctuary.
His work on Earth done, Gary was called Home on January 6, 2022, in Ruston.
He was born on July 4, 1948, in Minden, to Byron Eugene Hammon and Myrlene Weaver Hammon. The middle child of three children, Gary grew up in Ruston. He spent his childhood playing with his older brother Don, younger sister Chere, and other kids on his beloved Brewster Street.
Gary graduated from Ruston High School, where he played football for the RHS Bearcats. In 1970, he graduated from Louisiana Tech University, earning a degree in Petroleum Engineering. Gary launched from Ruston to careers and adventures around the globe. Gary sincerely loved his work, beginning with a drilling engineering job with Chevron Oil in Colorado. He worked for Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) in oil fields in Utah and Wyoming. Then seeking a challenge, he moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, to supervise drilling offshore in the Java Sea and in the jungles of Borneo.
In 1974, Gary chose an assignment in Alaska, where he spent the next 17 years working and enjoying hunting and fishing adventures he could have never imagined in his childhood. He embraced a new world and a new type of work drilling Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test wells in the Bering Sea and other locations inside the Arctic Circle on the North Slope of Alaska. Gary supervised the drilling of many of the original development wells in the largest oilfield ever discovered on the North American Continent: Prudhoe Bay.
He participated in drilling many exploration wells in the Bering Sea, Cook Inlet, and Gulf of Alaska. After taking an early retirement from the Alaska oil fields, Gary and several other partners formed Offshore Systems, Inc., a company which provides port facilities in the Aleutian Chain of Alaska for both the commercial fishing and the offshore oil industries.
Gary moved to Redmond, Washington, where he worked with Offshore Systems, Inc., and commuted and consulted with oil companies in America and Russia. He traveled to Sakhalin Island, Russia, where he helped to plan and construct a community to house and support oil field workers and to drill wells. Throughout his working career, Gary was well-respected for his expertise, good business mind, logical common sense, ability to ask critical questions, solve problems, and increase efficiency.
He made lasting friendships with work colleagues across many states and countries. One colleague said of him, “Gary made work fun.” Gary’s lifelong passion for fly-fishing led him to some of the greatest fly-fishing waters in the United States, Canada, Chile, Argentina, and the remote rivers of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. One of Gary’s favorite sayings was “Trout don’t live in ugly places.”
Another great passion was for animals — especially his dogs, Pogo, Satchmo, and Sebastian. In 2007, Gary re-connected with RHS classmate Jan Colvin. That encounter began a 14-year relationship and marriage filled with fun, laughter, travel, and shared family and friendships. They spent their time in bi-residency between Gary’s home in Redmond, Washington, and Jan’s home in Ruston. After retirement, they enjoyed traveling in their motorhome to 35 of the 63 National Parks across the U.S. They also made trips to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Costa Rica, and Africa.
They loved salt-water fishing for salmon and halibut off the coasts of Alaska and British Columbia. Perhaps their favorite trip was a photo safari to South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia. Born on the 4th of July, Gary was proud to be an American and always had great respect and appreciation for our active military and our veterans. One of his most prized possessions was a bottle of sand that he collected from Normandy Beach.
He was a generous benefactor to several organizations dedicated to benefit both active military and veterans. In his 73 years, the boy from Brewster Street traveled to 76 countries across the globe. Gary stood in awe of rugged mountains, and he marveled at the beauty of polar bears and whales. But he was equally happy hiking near his hometown at the Lincoln Parish Park, feeding the ducks and Canada geese and helping to clear and maintain the trails. So, as Gary the fisherman said many times as he released a trout back into the river, we also say, “Until we meet again …”
Gary enjoyed his role as family patriarch and strived to leave a legacy of hard work, integrity, travel and adventure, and love of country.
Gary is survived by his wife Jan Colvin Hammon of Ruston; sister Chere Pickett and husband William of Ocean Springs, Mississippi; nephew David Hammon and wife Jo of The Woodlands, Texas; niece Dana Hamblin and fiancé Brian Stephens of Ocean Springs; niece Katie Hammon of Ruston; and nephew Jason Hamblin of Calhoun. Gary is survived by 7 great-nieces and great-nephews — Maegan Creech of Ocean Springs; Ellen Taylor of Ruston; Wade Caskey of Ocean Springs; Andie Taylor of Bossier City; Grayson Hammon of The Woodlands; Jaye Hammon of The Woodlands; and Kade Hamblin of Shreveport.
Surviving relatives also include sister-in-law Maria Hammon Huckaby and husband Jerry of Choudrant; brother-in-law Charley Colvin and wife Terri of Kilgore, Texas; and beloved Aunts Mrs. Rowena Weaver of Jonesboro; and Mrs. Mavis Spain of Decatur, Texas. Gary is also survived by Jan’s children — Will Jones and wife Amy of Lufkin, Texas; and Hasson Felber and husband Eddie of Bentonville, Arkansas; and Jan’s Grandchildren — Cole Jones of Lufkin, Texas; Evie Felber of Bentonville, Arkansas; and Luke Felber of Bentonville, Arkansas.
Gary will be missed his many fun cousins and close friends and work buddies across time zones. Gary is preceded in death by his parents and his brother Donald Gene Hammon. The family requests that masks be worn at the service for the safety of everyone, especially those who are at risk.
Masks will be available at the church. Anyone choosing to honor Gary Hammon’s memory with a charitable gift may consider donating to one of Gary’s favorite charities: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Friends of Lincoln Parish Park, and The National Park Foundation.
