JUDITH DARLENE HAMMER

MAY 31, 1938 – AUGUST 8, 2023

Part 16 was published December 11, 2023 and can be read here.

Judy’s Baptism

Judy had been baptized at an early age but she did not remember it or have a record of it. Tressie, Gunner, and their dad, Justin, were getting baptized at the Prairie Pines Assisted Living Center exercise pool in Eads. Judy decided she would like to be baptized with them.

Tony and Andy helped her, and Pastor Lane Gooden officiated. This was on October 9, 2022. Judy was eighty-four years old.

Judy and I always tried to put God first in our lives. We took our children to church and Sunday school every Sunday regardless of how far away from church we lived.

Our son, Andy, and our daughter, Kim, each accepted Jesus as their Savior at Camp IANA when they were teenagers. Camp IANA is a church camp in the mountains west of Divide.

Merry Christmas

Christmas is a special day for Christians. The day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Judy an I always spent Christmas day with our parents, alternating each year. We always came home for Christmas regardless of where we were living.

I remember one year when we were living in Wyoming, we were driving home after celebrating Christmas with our parents. We were in a blizzard up north of Cheyenne. We said we will pull off on the highway at Chugwater.  We noticed the turnoff sign to late. There was nothing to do except continue driving. If we had stopped someone could have run into us. We finally got to our turnoff to the Twin Ranch. By the Grace of God, we got home safely.

Sometimes we would go to Uncle Mart’s to get a Christmas tree. One time my sister, Jean, and husband, Bill, went with us. We took a toboggan with us and found a neat hill to run down one time. All four of us rode it to the bottom of the hill. A big St. Bernard came along to play with us, and he would drag the toboggan to the top every time we rode. It was a great day.

We always enjoyed the Christmas programs of the different church’s we attended down through the years. Judy was usually involved in practice and preparation for the program. After we moved to Wild Horse, she became a spectator.

A very sad Christmas memory after we moved to Wild Horse. Judy’s father had passed away, and her mother was living by herself in Security. She came out to Wild Horse for Christmas one year and was riding with Jerry, Kim, and their family. Jerry had made a comment about black ice. There was a little curve as they approached the bridge just west of Wild Horse. The bridge had black ice. It was a terrible accident, and they slid into the bridge. Judy’s Mother was killed. Jerry, Lauren, and Jeremy were taken to Cheyenne Wells. Kim and Michael were taken to Denver. Judy’s mother was 83. She was a Christian and a great mother-in-law. Jerry, Kim, Michael, Lauren, and Jeremy all healed over time.

Judy’s Dog Sissy

We had guard dogs for the goats. They were not pets. They had a job. Judy wanted a pet dog she could call her own. Our friend, Mary Ellen, had a small dog that was from a litter of pups. She gave Judy a female puppy that Judy named Sissy. Judy had a lot of fun with her, but Sissy was not allowed to stay in the house. But she did get to stay on the back porch when it was cold. As she got older, she became disoriented. When Judy turned her out from the small yard to larger, she had to make sure all the gates were shut. The last time Judy turned Sissy out, she walked in a straight line to the outer fence trying to get under it, got stuck and died. Judy was very sad.

COVID

When they started giving COVID shots, Judy and I went to the Church of the Redeemed in Kit Carson to get our first and second shots. We were the only ones getting shots at that time.

Sometime later, my sister, Jean’s, grandson passed away and there were about 700 people at the Yoder High School Gym for his services. Very few had masks on. A few weeks later, Judy was sick, and I took her to the hospital. She was in the hospital for a few days, then sent home under quarantine for two weeks. I got sick and went to the hospital. They said I had pneumonia. I wasn’t there very long, and they sent me home. Before I left the hospital, a nurse came in to take some blood. When I got home the nurse called and said I had COVID, and I was quarantined for two weeks. I felt no symptoms.