Obituary: Ronald Neal Hammond

Ronald Neal Hammond
Jan. 30, 1967~Oct. 10, 2008
Ronald Neal (Freeman) Hammond passed away in Craig, Colo., on Oct. 10, 2008, at the age of 41. Ron lived all his life in Colorado. He was born in Delta to Edwin Freeman and Glenna Fae (Hammond) Ridenauer on Jan. 30, 1967.
Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Craig where Ron spent his preschool years. Following the divorce of his parents and remarriage of his mother to Tom Hammond, his new family moved to Walsenburg where Ron grew to adulthood.
As a young man, Ron worked for various agencies in the law enforcement field including time as a detention officer in Walsenburg and a guard at the federal “Super Max” prison at Florence, Colo. He was united in marriage to Tairah Brown on Dec. 7, 1996, and two daughters were born to this union.
Ron obtained his CDL license and drove for Swift Trucking for a short time.
In 1998, Ron and Tairah moved to Meeker where he worked at various jobs, including Meeker Sand and Gravel as a truck driver. In 2001, Ron had a driving accident and sustained massive injuries. Flight For Life took him to St. Mary¹s Hospital in Grand Junction where he was not expected to survive his injuries. With heroic medical care, support of his loving family and thousands of prayers, Ron beat the odds against his survival.
He was then moved to Pueblo for extensive rehabilitation lasting nearly two years and made a miraculous full recovery. As part of his rehabilitation, Ron went to school, became a certified welder, and worked at this occupation while living in Pueblo.
Following a divorce, Ron returned to Meeker in April 2006 to be closer to his family. He re-qualified for, and obtained his CDL, and was again employed by Meeker Sand and Gravel until this past September when he purchased his first home in Craig. Ron moved to Craig and took employment with Links Trucking, driving one of its contracted trucks at Colowyo Coal, hauling crushed coal from the tipple to the loadout.
 Ron was an accomplished artist. He did beautiful pen and ink drawings of nature, loved photography and used his welding skills to create beautiful floral sculptures as well as decorative floor lamps, kitchen racks and porch railings. An excellent woodsman, Ron loved the outdoors. He was an avid fisherman and hunter. Ron was very involved with his church and his faith in God was of great importance to him.
Ron is survived by his two daughters, Graicey Mae and Laicye Rose, Pueblo; mother, Glenna Fae Ridenauer, Fruita; father, Edwin Freeman (Anna), Meeker; stepfather, Tom Hammond (Ingrid), Craig; brothers Robert Hammond, Los Angeles, Calif.; David Hammond, Craig; sister Cindy Hammond, Trinidad; step-brothers Lance Ham-mond, (Mary) Craig, and Earl Stout (Nikki) Meeker; step-sister Pennie Plannagan (Pat), Moscow, Idaho; two grandmothers, Lit Anderson, Craig, and Ada Fae Nichols, Buerea, Ky.; plus many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Ron will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, at the Cochran Memorial Chapel in Meeker, Colo. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to the Ronald Hammond Memorial Fund at any First National Bank of the Rockies branch or can be mailed to FNBR, P.O. Box 600 in Meeker.