Alden Hammond

CHARLTON; Alden Wellington Hammond, 90, son of Oliver and Priscilla (Stannard) Hammond, was born in Hamden, CT, on March 19, 1921 and died on October 16, 2011 in Charlton, MA, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

 Alden is survived by his wife of 69 years, Elizabeth A. Hammond, one daughter, Martha E. Hammond of Holyoke, MA, three sons, John A. Hammond and his wife Susana Galdos of Lima, Peru, David A. Hammond and his wife Barbara of Malden, MA, and Stuart O. Hammond of Portland, ME. Also surviving are nine grandchildren; John Ewald and his wife Kristin of Franklin, MA, Michael Ewald and his wife Tara of Osterville, MA, Matthew Enright and his wife Sarah of Enfield, CT, Scott Hammond of Quincy, MA, Andrew Hammond of Waltham, MA, Douglas Hammond and his wife, Elizabeth Preston of Chicago, IL. Sarah Hammond of Chicago, IL, Russell Hammond of Gorham, ME, and John Hammond of Gorham, ME. He is survived by six great-grandchildren; Charles Ewald of Osterville, MA, Abigail Ewald of Osterville, MA, Katherine Ewald of Franklin, MA., Brayden Enright of Enfield, CT, Emily Enright of Enfield, CT, Patrick Ewald of Franklin, MA.  He also leaves a younger brother, Richard and his wife Barbara of Pittsford, VT, a nephew, Bradford Hammond of Danby, VT. as well as a niece, Sandra Reardon and her husband Timothy of Rutland, VT.

 Alden W. Hammond, a musician, teacher and bank officer, graduated in 1939 from New Haven’s Hopkins Grammar School, the oldest “country day school” in the U.S. He was a scholarship student and honors graduate of Yale University in 1942.  After military service, he did graduate work in the field of voice and choral conducting at Juilliard, Westminster Choir College and Columbia University. At Yale, he was president of the Freshman Glee Club and later a member of the Yale Glee Club, The Battell Chapel Choir and the Yale Quartet. While living in New Haven, he was a baritone soloist with various area choirs and minister of music at Edgewood Church and the West Haven Congregational Church.

 He served in the Air Force during WWII. While in Italy, he flew 33 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters. In March of 1945, he participated in a bombing attack on Berlin, the longest heavy bomber mission flown in the European Theater of Operations. Following the German surrender he was promoted to Captain and was assigned as co-pilot on the air crew of Lt. General John K. Cannon, commanding general of the US Air Forces in Europe at that time. He retired from the Active Reserves as a Major in 1961.

 After leaving military service, he joined the faculty of Hopkins as an English instructor. He later taught in the American Institute of Banking and as an adjunct faculty member of Holyoke Community College, where he held American Management Association classes in Communication and Business Writing. In 1955, he joined the Personnel Department of Irving Trust Co. in New York City and became Assistant Vice President in charge of both college recruiting and the Executive Training Program. Later in Massachusetts, he served as vice President of Personnel and Marketing for the former Framingham Savings Bank and for Peoples Bank in Holyoke, MA.

 A parishioner of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Southbridge, MA. when he died, he had also been treasurer, choir member, and a vestry member of the church. Prior to moving to Sturbridge, he had been a choir member and vestryman at Episcopal churches in Worcester, Northborough and Rumson, NJ. He was a trustee of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

 Mr. Hammond’s primary avocation was forming and conducting community choruses, following the example of the late Robert Shaw, whom he knew and with whom he once collaborated in a joint venture. He founded and conducted the New Haven Chorale in 1950 and the Shrewsbury Chorale (New Jersey) in 1957. He also revived and enlarged the Southbridge Choral Society in 1991, renaming it the Quinebaug Valley Singers and conducting it for two years.

 He was a direct descendant of John Alden and had also been a member of the Eastern, Middle Atlantic, and Midwest College Placement Associations.

 A funeral service will be held at 11:00AM, Saturday, October 22, in the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 446 Hamilton St. Southbridge. A private burial will take place in North Cemetery, Sturbridge at the convenience of the family. There are no calling hours.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Holy Trinity Church, Music Fund, PO Box 685, Southbridge, MA 01550.

 Belanger-Bullard Funeral Home, 51 Marcy St, Southbridge is directing arrangements.

An online guestbook is available at www.BelangerFuneralHome.com