Greta L. Hammond

Greta Lauretta (Johnson) Hammond, age 95, died peacefully in her sleep on January 12 after entering hospice on December 26. Daughter of the late Lauretta Wichmann Johnson and George E. Johnson, she was born May 20, 1930 in Appleton, WI, where she graduated from Appleton (West) High School in 1948. Greta received a B.S. degree from Northwestern University’s School of Education in 1952. While at Northwestern she was an active member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.

Shortly after graduation, Greta married her high school friend and sweetheart, R. Barton (Bart) Hammond. They settled in Appleton, where Bart began his lifelong career leading Wichmann Funeral Home and Crematory (founded by Greta’s grandfather, Louis C. Wichmann); and Greta taught third grade at Franklin Elementary School. The two shared a loving marriage and strong partnership that lasted 64 years until Bart’s death in 2016.

After two years of teaching, Greta turned her attention to their family and home. Their daughter Christy Jo was born in 1955 followed by their son David George in 1958. When the two children entered school, Greta returned to work as a homebound teacher of grade school students while also volunteering as a special education teacher. She was active in the King’s Daughters Silver Cross Circle, Meals on Wheels (serving as co-chair), Job’s Daughters, the YMCA “Menettes,” and the Association of University Women. She served on various boards and Riverview Country Club committees, and as an active church member (of Trinity Lutheran Church in Appleton, United Church of Marco Island and, in her final decades, Parfreyville United Methodist Church).

When Christy and David left home for college, Greta became one of Appleton’s first public school educators trained to teach “English as a Second Language.” Going above and beyond her classroom activities, she got to know her students’ families and made many friends in the local Hmong community. After retiring, for almost 20 years, Greta continued her ELL work as a volunteer working with some of the parents of her young students.

In retirement, Greta and Bart spent their summers at the family lake home on Columbia Lake in Waupaca, WI and winters in Marco Island, FL. In Florida, Greta volunteered at Youth Haven and continued teaching English to students from several countries.

She is survived by her daughter, Christy Jo Hammond (Thomas J. Kalinosky) of Chester, CT; her son David Hammond (Karen Hering) of St. Paul, MN; her grandchildren, Joseph Kalinosky (Maja), Cat Hammond (Ty Grant), August Kalinosky (Megan Ellis), and Tessa Jane Kalinosky; her great-grandchildren, Mila and Oliver Kalinosky; her brother, Richard Johnson, Vancouver, Canada; her nephew, Kurt Johnson; and her nieces, Richara Johnson and Erica Martinez Johnson. She is also survived by our special family friend, Andy Anderson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lauretta and George Johnson; her brother, Robert E. Johnson; and her husband, R. Barton Hammond.

Greta enjoyed knitting, traveling, reading a wide variety of literature, and cooking, but her fervent wish, from early childhood, was to be a nurturing mother and teacher. It was a wish she fulfilled across the decades of her life, generously sharing her loving care and innumerable gifts with her children and grandchildren and with many more students. She devotedly cared for her loved ones in old age as well and will be deeply missed by us all.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm, Saturday, January 24, at Parfreyville Methodist Church, N1979 County Rd K, Waupaca, WI 54981 with a reception to follow. Greta will be laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery in Appleton, WI at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to: The R. Barton and Greta Hammond Family Fund at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region (https://cffoxvalley.org/) or Parfreyville United Methodist Church, Parfreyville, WI.