Dallas Ladwig Hammond, 75, of Lutz, FL passed away September 16, 2008 in Tampa, FL.
He was born in 1932 in Clarksburg, West Virginia to Louise Flo Ash and Harry Dallas Hammond. He entered the US Air Force in 1950 and retired MSGT from MacDill AFB in 1995 as an Honored Veteran. He was an accomplished Musician and Songwriter throughout his lifetime with music being his first and constant passion. He is survived by his lovely wife of 24 years, Ida May Hammond, his four loving daughters, Dessa Lee Van Blaricum, Denise Laureen O’Connor, Doris "Dodi" Lynn Penrose and Dianne Louise Jones, as well as children by marriage, Jerry Jr., Janet, Joey and Jimmy Summers; eight grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a sister Madylon Ruth Heayn; two nieces and a nephew. He was respected and will be missed by many. He appreciated an attentive audience, whether on "the bandstand" or simply when sharing stories of his life experiences. He had a "cornball-goofball" sense of humor and enjoyed making people laugh most of the time. He had a strong affection for animals that dated back to his childhood in West Virginia. He always believed "Music is love in search of a word," and referred to himself as "The Ghost of Country Music." His words of wisdom, and of which he lived by were "If it’s not right, it’s wrong" and "ALWAYS do the right thing". The family would like to thank UHC Carrollwood – ICU Staff, Howard Richie, Stan "the man", the people who cared at Big Top Flea Market, Brad and Eileen Holiday and Ian Martin.
Services will be held on Friday, October 3, 2008 at 2:30pm at Florida National Cemetery, 6502 SW 102nd Avenue, Bushnell, FL 33513, Phone: 352 793-7740. Veterans Funeral Care 727 524-9202. www.myspace.com/theghostofcountrymusic
My Father –
You were my greatest mentor and adviser, my guardian and protector, my inspiration and motivation, my sounding board, my confidant and one of my best friends. Without fail, you loved me unconditionally. You set examples with high standards and instilled confidence, guidance and assurance that we could always do the right thing. I will forever honor the principles, morals, ethics and lessons you have taught me. You will be missed more than words can explain. You have finally taught me how to listen and hear what is being said, and not to second-guess. You will always be in my heart……… I love you Daddy!
You will always be the first I think of when I wake and the last I think of when I rest,
All my fondest memories are of you, I learned to love my children with intensity from you,
Every drop of love and every warm embrace IS you! I see my children through your eyes And they are without flaw, they are perfection and beautiful, as we your baby girls were to you.
I will miss dearly hearing your voice, seeing your smile.
Had it not been for you Daddy, I would not be here today. Thank you for life, thank you for love and thank you for teaching me to never quit and always give 110%.
You took my heart with you, I know its safe there, and I will come to retrieve it when the good Lord permits, until then , I Love you, I respect you, I honor you!
With deepest Love Daddy I miss you.
Take care of each other and may you find peace and comfort in the LORD Jesus.
We have some fond memories from years gone by of Dallas.
His blessings,
Carla Thompson Dessa and Denise’s aunt
You are in our thoughts and prayers. May God give you the straingth and comfort needed to go forward.
Dallas,
We will miss you every day.
Eileen and Brad
Bubby,you and I are 2 of a kind because of our backgroound. You have always been my hero, the one I looked up to and asked advice from. I was the one you would call when sitting by a brook or stream or just at your desk or at work and needed somebody to talk to about things on your mind that were private. Nobody knows how really deep our Brother Sister relationship went because as you have said so many times nobody really knew you. But I did and I am going to miss you so much but I will always have our talks to fall back on. You are a great individual, one of a kind and I will always have you with me to talk to when I need that somebody special.My Big Brother. Let there be no doubt that I love you Bubby and will always keep you in my heart. Sorry Texas didn’t happen. Your Sissy
Uncle Dallas you are the only uncle I ever knew you use to always tell me I was your favorite. I miss you very much and I love you. You are a great man.You did a lot of things in your life that some people just read about. I would be honered just to say I did a quarter of what you did and accomplished.Before you were my age. But you did so much more. Larry and Frank and Mike all miss you. You have very special place in our hearts you always will. I love You. See ya when I get there Dee