Constance Walden Hammond

Constance Walden Hammond Mullin Branscomb, peaceably passed away on February 8, 2026, in La Jolla, California, succumbing to the vicissitudes of Alzheimer's disease. Connie was born in Annapolis on May 31, 1939, the daughter of USNA mathematics Professor Jacques R. Hammond and his wife Louise Kemp Hammond. She grew up on Thompson Street in Murray Hill, attended Annapolis Elementary School, Annapolis Junior High, and graduated from Annapolis High School in 1957, where she was immersed in school activities including as an editor of the Tally-Ho school newspaper. She earned a B.S. degree in biochemistry from Radcliffe College of Harvard University in 1961.

Growing up in Annapolis, Connie was involved with the Girl Scouts and the Mariner Scouts, becoming a proficient canoeist and sailor. She built a canoe landing at the foot of Thompson Street and plied the waters of Spa Creek in her canoe Bonjour. She became qualified to skipper Naval Academy knockabouts as a teenager and crewed in Annapolis–Newport races.

After college, Connie found her way to La Jolla, California, where in 1964 she married Michael M. Mullin, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She continued her education at the San Diego State University, earning a M.S. in biology, and eventually teaching in the school's biology department. She was deeply involved in cultural organizations that celebrated Renaissance music and Shakespearean plays. Additionally, Connie was a member of the La Jolla Garden Club, the La Jolla Historical Society, and served as president of the La Jolla Democratic Club.

Connie was the mother of three children, Stephen J. Mullin of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Keith A. Mullin and Laura M. Thompson, both of La Jolla, California, and additionally survived by five grandchildren. Following the death of her husband Michael in 2000, she married Lewis M. Branscomb in 2005, and together they enjoyed several extended global cruises. Lewis passed away in 2023. Connie is also survived by her sister, Alice H. Doyle of Ashland, Massachusetts, and her brother, John R. Hammond of Annapolis. Her brother, Thomas K. Hammond passed away in 2023.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made to the Michael M. Mullin Graduate Student Fellowship in Biological Oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

https://giveto.ucsd.edu/giving/home/?linkId=711a6d81-51d6-43c0-9b60-6941f0ae6f08