Memories of John Hammett 1922 - 2010

We met John and Joyce as friends of my parents more than 40 years ago. They shared many things in common with my parents, not the least of which was John's wonderfully sharp sense of humor and their love of travel in RV's. As Ron and I grew older we were able to spend more time with the Hammetts and they became our friends, too.

In early spring 2009, John was diagnosed with an incurable cancer. He chose to fight it for as long as he could in order to spend more time with family and friends. He had treatments at the Allison Cancer Center in Midland, TX. He got very cold during those treatments so I was happy to knit him a couple of hats. The first was a quick knit beanie. It didn't cover his ears and neck enough to keep him warm. John's favorite style of caps was an English Driving Cap so I knit one for him that could cover his ears and neck and also had a bill that shaded his eyes from the glare of lights in the treatment room.

When I saw John on Christmas Eve I woke him from a nap, we spoke for a few minutes then he continued his nap. I visited with Joyce about the caps. She said that people at the treatment center wanted to know where he got the caps because they wanted one, too. I vowed to myself to knit some caps for men to give to the center for use by many men. I knit 5 caps, 2 beanies and 3 with small bills. I also knit 2 earwarmers that fit over baseball caps. Something for everyone.

The hats and earwarmers were cheerfully modeled by a puppy friend before they went to the Allison Cancer Center where they were happily received and put to use.