LOVED ONE | Dr. Ray Otto Hammons
DATES | October 2, 1919 – October 2, 2011
CEMETERY | Oak Ridge
LOCATION IN CEMETERY |
FUNERAL HOME | Albritton-Beaumont Funeral Directors, 1020 N. Tift Ave., Tifton, GA 31794 – t: 229 382 7550
Dr. Ray Otto Hammons, 92, of Tifton died Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011 on his 92nd birthday at Tift Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m., today, in the chapel of Albritton-Beaumont Funeral Directors with his grandson–in-law the Rev. Alan Tillman delivering the eulogy. Burial will follow at Oakridge Cemetery in Tifton.
Pallbearers will be his grandson Mike Eidson, son-in-law Fred Harmon, grandsons-in-law Mike Sims, Ravine Wijeratne, Seth Tepfer, Karl Strength, and great-grandson Jake Tillman. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Senior Adult Sunday School classes and deacons of Northside Baptist Church.
Dr. Hammons was born Oct. 2, 1919, near Wesson, Miss.,, in Copiah County as one of 11 children born to William David Hammons and Frances Louise Douglass Hammons. He was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers, five sisters, and his son, Ray O. Hammons Jr.
Dr. Hammons graduated from Copiah County High School as valedictorian in 1938 and received an A. A. Degree with highest honors from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 1941. It was there at the Copiah-Lincoln Community College that he met his future wife of 69 years, Annie Ray Howell.
He received both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Mississippi State College and his PhD from North Carolina State University in 1953 where he was elected to several honor societies.
During World War II, Dr. Hammons joined the U.S. Navy and served as a flight instructor and as a naval aviator in the South Pacific where he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for combat action in the Guadalcanal area.
Dr. Hammons began his career by teaching at Purdue University, but soon began work as a researcher with the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, based at the Tifton Experiment Station, where he had a long and distinguished career.
He traveled extensively throughout the world as a peanut specialist, published over 300 articles and technical papers, and co-authored a book about peanuts before retiring in 1984.
Dr. Hammons and his wife loved to travel, visiting all 50 states and many foreign countries. They also camped extensively across the United States and at every campground in the state of Georgia. He was a devout Christian and a longtime member of Northside Baptist Church. He taught Sunday School and served as a deacon at Baptist churches in North Carolina, Indiana and Georgia. He and his wife were co-authors of “The History of Northside Baptist Church,” which was published in 1993.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three daughters and two sons-in-law: Mary Harmon (Fred), Tifton, Sue Hammons, Tifton, and Lynda Eidson (Gorman), Palatka, Fla.; seven grandchildren: Sandie Sims (Mike), Patti Tillman (Alan), Cathie Harmon (Ravine Wijeratne), Pam Eidson (Seth Tepfer), Debra Eidson, Mike Eidson (Casey) and Laurann Strength (Karl); eight great-grandchildren: Jake Tillman, Macie and Sydney Sims, Ben Wijeratne, Jex and Zyle Tepfer, Ray McCloskey and Artemis Eidson; one brother and sister-in-law, Roy Hammons (Doris); and numerous nieces and nephews.