James Hammons, age 80, died September 2019 in Milwaukie, Oregon. He worked in the Spanish Department in Pasadena and Big Sandy for many years. No further information is known.
I knew Jim during our college years and liked him very much. But, my greatest memory of him was from the Spring of 1968 after both of us had graduated and were employed by the college/church, me in Pasadena and Jim in Big Sandy. Here is my account taken from my autobiography.
"Just a few weeks after Darryl was born I had a very interesting experience. In order to keep students
employed on the Texas campus some of the mail received in Pasadena was being sent over for them
to read and send requested literature from there. We, in the Pasadena Mail Processing, had
developed a “one day” turn around. Mail received by the early morning was read and literature
requested was in the mail by the end of the day. Mail being sent to Texas was not getting read and
processed quickly at all. Mr. Leroy Neff, who was responsible for the small Mail Processing area
in Texas, requested that someone from Pasadena come over and work with the department there and
help them speed up their operation. John Wilson, the department manager of Mail Processing in
Pasadena, asked me to go and spend a week in Texas.
Travel arrangements for church and college employees were coordinated by a small travel
department. So, it was to these people we turned to arrange for flights to and from Texas. It turned
out that Garner Ted Armstrong and several individuals involved with the production of the radio and
TV programs were heading to Washington, DC for a broadcasters convention. They were going to
fly first to Texas on a Friday and continue on to Washington sometime on Sunday. And, they were
going to be flying on the business jet that was being purchased by the church, a French built Falcon
Fan Jet 20. It was arranged that I fly over with them. We flew from the Burbank, California airport
where the Falcon was kept.
Even though a landing strip had been constructed on the Texas campus it would not accommodate
the Falcon and we landed at Gregg County Airport in Longview, Texas. A Beechcraft Queen Air
was housed at the Texas campus and it had been flown to meet us at Longview and to fly us on to
the campus. We arrived on campus early to mid-afternoon. I was met by Dr. Wilmer Parish, the
manager of the Mail Processing Department in Texas. I don’t recall, but I believe he gave me a
quick tour through the department before the afternoon was over. Arrangements had been made for
me to stay with a fellow who was working in the department and whom I had known in Pasadena,
James Hammonds, and his wife, the former Lynda Winberry.
I was able to follow the whole process of their handling of the mail since James was the one that
picked up the mail packages at the Big Sandy post office each morning. Mr. Neff had asked that I
observe, ask questions and then write up my suggestions after returning to Pasadena, which is what
I did. Many of my suggestions were adopted and the processing was speeded up.
While in Texas I was treated like a VIP. Dr. Parish insisted that I join him each day for lunch in the
Faculty Dining Room, which was something I wasn’t used to at all. One evening during that week
the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra gave a concert at the college. Dr. Parish insisted that I sit in
the seats set aside for the faculty and their families. But the biggest VIP treatment came when I was
preparing to go back to California. Dr. Parish had asked Mr. Neff about getting someone from the
Transportation Department to drive me to Dallas to meet my flight Friday afternoon. Mr. Neff told
him that he would take care of the arrangements. His “arrangement” was to have me flown to Dallas
on the Queen Air. James Hammonds went along for the ride but the whole purpose of that flight was
to get me to Dallas. As mentioned, I just wasn’t used to being given that kind of treatment."
I will add that Jim was a most gracious host during that week.
Robert Gentet (1957)
My memories of Jim at AC are all good. He was a quiet fellow and hard worker. R.I.P.
Garry Pifer (1960)
I knew Jim during our college years and liked him very much. But, my greatest memory of him was from the Spring of 1968 after both of us had graduated and were employed by the college/church, me in Pasadena and Jim in Big Sandy. Here is my account taken from my autobiography.
"Just a few weeks after Darryl was born I had a very interesting experience. In order to keep students
employed on the Texas campus some of the mail received in Pasadena was being sent over for them
to read and send requested literature from there. We, in the Pasadena Mail Processing, had
developed a “one day” turn around. Mail received by the early morning was read and literature
requested was in the mail by the end of the day. Mail being sent to Texas was not getting read and
processed quickly at all. Mr. Leroy Neff, who was responsible for the small Mail Processing area
in Texas, requested that someone from Pasadena come over and work with the department there and
help them speed up their operation. John Wilson, the department manager of Mail Processing in
Pasadena, asked me to go and spend a week in Texas.
Travel arrangements for church and college employees were coordinated by a small travel
department. So, it was to these people we turned to arrange for flights to and from Texas. It turned
out that Garner Ted Armstrong and several individuals involved with the production of the radio and
TV programs were heading to Washington, DC for a broadcasters convention. They were going to
fly first to Texas on a Friday and continue on to Washington sometime on Sunday. And, they were
going to be flying on the business jet that was being purchased by the church, a French built Falcon
Fan Jet 20. It was arranged that I fly over with them. We flew from the Burbank, California airport
where the Falcon was kept.
Even though a landing strip had been constructed on the Texas campus it would not accommodate
the Falcon and we landed at Gregg County Airport in Longview, Texas. A Beechcraft Queen Air
was housed at the Texas campus and it had been flown to meet us at Longview and to fly us on to
the campus. We arrived on campus early to mid-afternoon. I was met by Dr. Wilmer Parish, the
manager of the Mail Processing Department in Texas. I don’t recall, but I believe he gave me a
quick tour through the department before the afternoon was over. Arrangements had been made for
me to stay with a fellow who was working in the department and whom I had known in Pasadena,
James Hammonds, and his wife, the former Lynda Winberry.
I was able to follow the whole process of their handling of the mail since James was the one that
picked up the mail packages at the Big Sandy post office each morning. Mr. Neff had asked that I
observe, ask questions and then write up my suggestions after returning to Pasadena, which is what
I did. Many of my suggestions were adopted and the processing was speeded up.
While in Texas I was treated like a VIP. Dr. Parish insisted that I join him each day for lunch in the
Faculty Dining Room, which was something I wasn’t used to at all. One evening during that week
the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra gave a concert at the college. Dr. Parish insisted that I sit in
the seats set aside for the faculty and their families. But the biggest VIP treatment came when I was
preparing to go back to California. Dr. Parish had asked Mr. Neff about getting someone from the
Transportation Department to drive me to Dallas to meet my flight Friday afternoon. Mr. Neff told
him that he would take care of the arrangements. His “arrangement” was to have me flown to Dallas
on the Queen Air. James Hammonds went along for the ride but the whole purpose of that flight was
to get me to Dallas. As mentioned, I just wasn’t used to being given that kind of treatment."
I will add that Jim was a most gracious host during that week.