Rose Hammond

Our dear sister and friend, Rose Hammond, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, August 29, 2019 after a long illness. She was born to Loyd and Elizabeth (Siuda) Darling on Sept. 6, 1948, the third of eight children. Rose was much too young to leave us but we know that she can run and skip in heaven now, and she'll be making slippers and afghans for everyone there with her "smokin' needles!" She was a smart, witty, kind and charming woman with a heart as big as a basketball. She would give you the shirt off her back and was ALWAYS willing to help someone in need, even to the exclusion of something she may have needed or wanted. She would not blink an eye at helping someone, ever.

Rose was preceded in death by her husband, Jerald Hammond, her parents, Loyd and Elizabeth (Betty) Darling, siblings Dennis Darling, Philip Darling and MaryBeth Darling, sister-in-law Karen Darling and brother-in-law John Terpstra. She is survived by sisters Vicki Stewart (James) and Dee Terpstra, brothers Rick Darling (Sue) and Don Darling, close cousins Donna Jean Weber and David Siuda, special niece and nephew, Lindsay Stewart and Preston Stewart, numerous other nieces and nephews, including the Hammond children, and her friend and roommate Joetta Simmons.

Rose was valedictorian of her 1966 Catholic Central graduating class and then chose the Navy over college. She graduated at the top of her class at the Navy Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois. She was then stationed at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, working in a capacity which she described as similar to today's nurse practitioner. After the Navy she attended Central Michigan University and even took flying lessons for a while, one of her greatest joys in her younger years.

She married Jerald Hammond on September 6, 1980 and they made their home in Wellston briefly and then in Manistee. Rose enjoyed traveling in her younger years and drove across the country several times as well as to the east coast and several trips to Chicago for girls' weekends with her sisters and cousin. In her later years, Rose suffered from numerous health problems, but she always maintained her cheerful disposition and never wanted to inconvenience anyone. She loved to knit and crochet and could work without patterns better than anyone, even winning a contest with an afghan pattern she created. Besides her smokin' needles, her greatest talent was being the best pre-Google search engine you could ask for. She was the "go to" resource for anything we needed to know, the "wisdom keeper" of all things. Even after Google, when there was a discrepancy on the internet, Rose was the one who would know the correct answer. She will be missed more than words can say.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, September 6, 2019 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Manistee at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Zeljko Guberovic celebrant. A luncheon for family and friends will be held at the St. Joseph Parish Center following the mass. Interment will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Hastings, Michigan at a later date. The family will receive friends at the Herbert Funeral Home on Thursday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 PM and on Friday morning from 10:00 AM until leaving for the church at 10:40 AM.

The Herbert Funeral Home of Manistee is in charge of funeral arrangements.