Henrietta Jean Hammons

Henrietta Jean Hammons, age 94, of Grants Pass, Oregon, passed away December 29, 2016. After missing her husband for 13 years, she joined him.

Henrietta was born September 5, 1922, in Steele, North Dakota, to Roscoe and Laura (Barnes) Wurm. She attended Western Washington University, studying teaching, and earned her BA in Education from University of Portland. She immediately began teaching first grade.

One evening at a dance, she saw a young soldier across the room, one she hoped would ask her to dance. John Junior Hammons did. Immediately after WWII ended, he returned, as he had promised. They were married in Reno September 21, 1945. They lived in northern California before settling in Marysville in 1955, and between 1949 and 1954, they had three sons. From 1956 to 1975, Henrietta worked as a social worker for the Welfare Dept. of Yuba County. Upon retirement, they moved to Newport, Washington, and lived ten years in a two-story log cabin they and their sons built.

They moved to Redmond, Oregon, living there for ten years, before moving to Cave Junction, Oregon. Five years after John passed away in 2003, she moved to Grants Pass.

Henrietta enjoyed horse-back riding, dancing, and dogs throughout her life. She continued to dance right up until her last year, particularly enjoying western dancing with the Grants Pass Dance Club.

Survivors include three sons: Kenneth Hammons (Gayle), of Sitka, Alaska, David Hammons (Karen), of Stevensville, Montana, and Lynn Hammons of Crescent City, California, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.

A simple graveside service will be at 2:00 pm, Monday, January 9, 2017, at Sutter Cemetery in Sutter, California, where she will be laid to rest next to her husband.