Bob Hamm was studying agriculture in 1939 when he traveled from
Kansas to New York City with friends to attend the World's Fair. The
theme was "The World of Tomorrow." Bob was so inspired by what he saw
that when he returned to Kansas, he switched to mechanical engineering.
He wanted to help build the world of tomorrow.
And he did. As an engineer with Westinghouse for more than 40 years, he
worked on some of the important engineering projects of the 20th
century, including jet engines, spacecraft, nuclear power, desalination
of water, and desulfurization of coal.
Bob was also a great husband and father. He taught his children to work very hard, to be responsible, and to be kind.
James Robert Hamm died on Feb. 17, 2019, at age 98 in Boulder, Colorado.
Bob was born on a farm outside Humboldt, Kansas, where his ancestors
had been pioneers and his parents struggled financially. When he was
very young, his mother would cook turnips on the wood burning stove for
him on winter mornings. He would put the turnips in his coat pockets to
keep his fingers warm during his walk to a two-room school house. At
lunch time, he'd eat the turnips.
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| Bob and Toddie on their wedding day. |
After graduating from Kansas
State University, he joined Westinghouse in Philadelphia, Pa., where he
worked in the Steam Division and Aviation Gas Turbine Division. In
Philadelphia, he joined the Buck Ridge Ski Club and met Marian "Toddie"
Miller on a blind date at a club picnic. They married
in 1948.
Bob loved engineering
and farming. With two young sons
in tow, he and Toddie moved to Humboldt to farm in the mid-1950s. But he
later returned to Westinghouse in Kansas City and Pittsburgh, where he
worked at Westinghouse Research. During the 1970s, the family, by then
including four children, became part-owners of a farm in Westmoreland
County, Pa.
The Hamm family lived in Export, Pa., for many years,
but Bob and Toddie moved to Palmrya, Va., when they retired, living on
the banks of Lake Monticello-where they sailed, canoed and enjoyed
cocktail parties. There, Bob helped launch the first recycling program
for Fluvanna County and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. He and
Toddie later moved to Wichita, Kansas, living in Larksfield Place. After
Toddie died in 2007, Bob moved to Lafayette, Colorado, to be near his
daughter and youngest son.
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| Bob with his great-grandaughter, Darcy |
Bob was a nearly-life-long Republican.
He left the party over the invasion of Iraq and later became an
enthusiastic supporter of President Obama.
Bob is survived by his
children, Robert, Stephen, Allison and John Hamm; by grandchildren
Ursula Bowling, James Hamm, Daniel Hamm, Laura Hamm, Andre Hamm, Julia
Johnson, and Gabriela Hamm; and by great-grandchildren Ephraim, Joy,
Lydia, and Miriam Bowling, and Darcy and Thaddeus Hamm.
A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church of Boulder on May 4. Eventually his ashes will be buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Humboldt, next to Toddie's.
Gallery:
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| With Ingrid, John and Rob at Mt. Hope in Humboldt, 2015 |
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| Bob at Belmont racetrack, 2012 |
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| Learning about a turbine in Estes Park, 2015 |
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| With Rob, visiting the Humboldt Historical Society, 2017 |
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| Haircut, 2018 |
