Mildred Hammer

Mildred Ellen Hammer, 95, a longtime Casa Grande resident, died peacefully at home on Jan. 15, 2011.
A graveside service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday in Mountain View Cemetery, with a memorial service following at 11:30 at First Presbyterian Church of Casa Grande.
Mrs. Hammer was born on Nov. 9, 1915, in Marion, Ohio, the oldest daughter of 12 children of William “Bill” and Olive Kenyon. She graduated in 1933 from Harding High School and went on to graduate from Marion Business College. She then worked several years as the manager of a Marion department store.
Being the oldest unmarried daughter of the family, she traveled to Tucson in 1940 with her father, who had asthma and was seeking a desert climate. She worked at Davis-Monthan Air Base as a bookkeeper. She and her father moved to Casa Grande in 1942, and she worked for the Casa Grande Dispatch. She married pioneer Casa Grande businessman Louis J. Hammer in 1947. She became active in her husband’s business, B&L Supply Company, a major developer of what is now the historic downtown district.
She became a member of First Presbyterian Church in the early 1940s and was active there her entire life. She and her husband loved to travel and visited many places in the United States. After her husband’s death she continued her passion of travel with friends. She was an accomplished pianist and was a director of the Casa Grande Valley Community Concert Association in the 1960s. She also loved crafts and worked at that in later years at Sunwest Resort Village. She loved the weekly craft day at the clubhouse and considered it her “therapy.”
Survivors include a son, Jack Kenyon Hammer of Casa Grande; a stepdaughter, Betty Joy of Dewey; a stepson, Donald F. Hammer of Oracle; a sister, Grace kasler of Bradenton, FL; and seven grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband.
Memorial contributions may be made to First Presbyterian Church or Casa Grande Valley Historical Society.
J. Warren Funeral Services, Cole & Maud The Gardens Chapel is in charge of arrangements.