Sibyl Martin Hammonds was born October 14, 1935, in Painter, Alabama and passed on to be with the Lord on Dec 10, 2025, in Homewood, Alabama. In those 90 years, she lived a life filled with faithful service to the Lord and loving care for her family. Sibyl never shied away from hard work, whether in her home, the hayfield, cotton patch, garden, chicken house, or the various jobs she held over the years. She wore many titles in her lifetime such as daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and she epitomized what it means to be each one of those. However, Sibyl knew the most important title she wore was Child of God. She was a Christian for more than 65 years and truly looked forward to worshipping and glorifying God with her brothers and sisters in Christ. She would be quick to correct anyone who said we “have to go to church” with “No, we get to go to church!” In 1949, Sibyl married at the age of 14, and she and R.C. moved to Detroit, Michigan where she become a mother for the first time at 16. She dedicated her life to being a good wife through 59 years of marriage, celebrating life’s joys and enduring the storms and hardships with grace and kindness. She was a wonderful scratch cook and seamstress, and she set the ultimate example of what it means to be a loving adult child in caring for her parents during their declining years.
Sibyl was preceded in death by her loving husband, R.C. Hammonds, her parents Virgil Martin and Dovie Gilbreath Martin, her sister Glenda Belle Martin, her brothers James Martin and Doyle Martin, her sons-in-law Richard Copeland and John E. Gurtler, and all her sisters and brothers-in-law, save one.
She is survived by her daughter Joan Hammonds Gurtler, daughter Karen Copeland Troulias (Wayne), son Richard Hammonds (Lisa), son Stan Hammonds (Ginger), sister-in-law Jeanette Hammonds McMullins, 10 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Flowers are appreciated; however, you may also choose to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, December 12, 2025, in the Chapel of Adams Brown Service Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Liberty Cemetery in the Painter Community. Pallbearers assisting Mrs. Hammonds to her final resting place will include her grandsons John S. Gurtler, Will Hammonds, and Harrison Hammonds, along with her nephews Jimmy Martin, Jeff Allen, and Shannon Allen. The family will receive friends two hours prior to the service, beginning at 12:00 p.m.
