John R. Hammond, age 93, went to live with his Lord and Savior Jesus on Friday, March 20, 2026. He was born on April 18, 1932 in Chillicothe, Ohio. He was the son of Ruth and John O. Hammond.

John attended Ohio State University (OSU) where he was a proud trumpet playing member of the OSU marching band. He dearly loved his Buckeye football! While at OSU he enrolled in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). John graduated from OSU with a degree in accounting and finance.

John was in the Air Force training as a pilot of the F-86 Sabre in Panama City, Florida when he met a beautiful Southern lady named Virginia “Ginger” Jenkins. He left Florida after training for an assignment in Korea and, upon his return, John and Ginger were married in Birmingham Alabama.

John worked most of his adult life in the paper industry, primarily with Kimberly Clark (KC). At one point he worked as the Controller of the Service Products Division which included Kimbies, the first disposable diapers, that later went on to become the Huggies brand. As a KC employee, he had 2 occasions to fly to Europe on the Concorde, supersonic transport for work trips in Europe.

An avid sports participant John enjoyed golf, basketball, tennis, racquet ball and handball, as well as bird hunting, but his greatest love was trout and fly-fishing. He was a 50+ year founding member of the Fox Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Each summer he would travel to Montana where he would fly fish solo, or with a group of friends. His love of sports led to John being interviewed and quoted in the August 11, 1986 issue of Sports Illustrated in their article about life and sports in Appleton, WI and the surrounding Fox Valley.

John was a 58-year member of the First United Methodist Church of Appleton where he taught Sunday School and served on several committees over the years. John served in the past, as the treasurer for the United Methodist Church Conference in Wisconsin. His faith was central to his life.

John is survived by his children Ann Hammond Raabe (Doug Johnson) of Evansville, WI, Mark (Judy) Hammond of Peachtree City, GA and Eric (Debra) Hammond of Plymouth, MN. He is further survived by his grandchildren Amanda Raabe Nelson (Scott Nelson), Andrew (Ashley Alexander) Raabe, John and David Hammond and Mitchel and Cooper Hammond.

John was preceded in death by his wife: Virginia “Ginger” Hammond, parents, and his siblings Janet and Dwight.

John will be remembered for his strength, leadership, generosity, and unwavering dedication to his family, and his community. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

There will be a time of visitation at First United Methodist Church in Appleton on Saturday, April 18 from 9 to 11 AM. A memorial celebration of life will follow. Inurnment will take place at Riverside Memorial Cemetery, 714 N Owaissa St, Appleton.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to United Cerebral Palsy. Online donations can be made at: https://give.ucp.org › campaign › donate

The family would like to thank all of the wonderful healthcare professionals that have worked with John from Brewster Village, ThedaCare at Home, St. Croix Hospice and especially the staff at Touchmark Senior Living.