On Sunday, August 20, 2023, Dorothy “Sue” Hammack, 91, peacefully entered her heavenly home while surrounded by friends and family.
Preceding her in death were her parents, Barney and Lela Mansell; husband of 49 years, Harrol Hammack; son, Dr. Steve Hammack; grandson, Jason Hammack; brother, Jack Mansell, and sister, Mary Lee Webb.
Left to cherish her memory are daughters, Pam Fretwell (Jimmy) and Susan DeArman (Cam); daughter-in-law, Marcia Hammack; grandchildren, Mitch Moore (Brandi), Laura Bozovic (Slaven), and Cameron and Ashlyn DeArman; great-grandchildren, Karlie and Kara Moore and Mila Bozovic; and brother, Barry Mansell (Mickey).
Sue was a proud member of the Russellville High School graduating class of 1949, and in recent years had made it her goal to live to be 100 and be the last classmate standing. As she looked at the newspaper obituaries, she would clip those she knew, putting all the classmates’ obituaries together for safekeeping and motivation to meet her goal. She would then go to the puzzles section and correctly complete the crossword. Because of that, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and keeping her library card active, she kept a good mind to the end.
In 1951, Sue married Harrol, and as the custom at the time was for women to stay home to raise a family while the men worked, that’s exactly what she did. She ended up raising this family in two stages as two children were born while Sue was in her 20s and her youngest was born when Sue was 40. She always said that child was a “surprise,” not a mistake. Harrol and Sue were active members of Calvary Baptist Church, and many of their summer vacations included traveling with the Franklin County Baptist Builders to areas around the country to build churches. She still drove herself to church every time the door was open and never missed a church event even at 91.
Sue was a wonderful cook, though she wouldn’t let anyone but family ever really eat anything she made for fear it wouldn’t live up to others’ standards. There are no favorite family recipes because everything she prepared was delicious. Sue was also a lover of playing games, especially cards. She and Harrol played a lot of Pinochle with friends, and in later years, Sue played bridge. She was still playing bridge within the last year, and that was one more thing she did to keep her mind active. She wouldn’t want this told, but at this point, why not? She once was a member of a ladies’ poker club. These ladies would each bring $1.00 worth of pennies and play from morning to afternoon. Sue would come home and say, “I won $4.22 today!” as if she had done amazingly well. If it was her turn to host, you could be sure she kept the door locked so she had plenty of time to put her pennies away. She shared this love of card playing with her children and grandchildren, and family gatherings were often spent playing cards.
The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to all the staff at Burns Nursing and Rehab for the love and care shown to Sue and her family. Pallbearers are Mitch Moore, Cameron DeArman, Terrell Webb, Tommy Hammock, Jax Greenhill, and Jason Davis. Visitation at Calvary Baptist Church will be on Saturday, August 26 from 12:00 to 2:00 with the funeral immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Calvary Baptist Church building fund or the American Heart Association.
Pinkard Funeral Home of Russellville assisted the family.
