Richard Dennis Hammond, fun-loving, generous man

Richard “Rich” Dennis Hammond, 66, passed away in Philadelphia, Pa., Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

Rich is survived by his wife, Jody Hammond of Ocean View; son and daughter-in-law, Casey Hammond and Leala Smith of Millersville, Md.; brother and sister-in-law, Rob and Diane Martenis of Henrico, Va.; father-in-law, Bob Martenis of Wilmington, N.C.; cousin, Doreen DeBenedictis of Tampa, Fla.; cousin, Lori (Bill) Sullivan of Carmel, Ind.; cousin, Carol (Chuck) Rama of Hewitt, N.J.; “little brother,” Sam (Anastasia) Lowery of Little River, S.C.; and many other dear friends and loved ones. He is preceded in death by his mother-in-law Vicky Martenis of Wilmington, N.C.; and aunt and uncle Dottie and Bill DeBenedictis of Hatboro, Pa.

Rich was born Feb. 9, 1957, in Philadelphia, Pa. He graduated from Temple University in 1979 with a degree in communications. He married the love of his life, Jody, in 1985 before beginning his career with WPHL. In 1991, they welcomed their son, Casey, into the world. After retiring in 2020, Rich and Jody moved from Fort Washington, Pa., to Ocean View.

He was a fun-loving, generous, and laid-back husband, father, friend, and relative. Throughout his life, Rich enjoyed coaching Casey’s childhood baseball and soccer teams, golfing, gardening, traveling, and jamming out to the Grateful Dead. He was passionate about the Eagles, Phillies, Mummers Parade, soft pretzels, cheesesteaks, and all things Philly. He was a member of the Philadelphia Ad Club for 15 years and ran their softball league for 10 years. He was on the board of the Devereux Foundation for over a decade. After moving to Delaware, he enjoyed volunteering at Freeman Arts Pavilion in Selbyville. His pups, Sandy and Quinn, miss their routine walks around the neighborhood, and his cats, Emma and Molly, miss their afternoon naps together.

Out of respect for Rich’s wishes, interment will be private with his family.

In lieu of flowers, make donations to the Devereux Foundation, devereux.org.

His family and friends will continue honoring his legacy by watching TV with the volume turned up way too loudly, putting pretzels on ice cream, attending concerts, and drinking Bloody Marys.

As the Grateful Dead would say, “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”

Online condolences can be left by visiting melsonfuneralservices.com.