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Robert (Bob) W. Hammer
October 25, 1933-December 12, 2014
Bob Hammer 003 bw

 Robert (Bob) W. Hammer, 81, formerly of Indianapolis, Indiana, died in Manteca, California on December 12, 2014 after battling pancreatic cancer. He was born on October 25, 1933 in Hibbard, IN. The son of a Methodist minister and school teacher, they moved around and eventually settled in his father’s hometown Sheridan, IN in 1942. He joined the Navy in 1953 and traveled around the world. Afterwards he attended the University of Indianapolis. He married his first wife, Sue Burton, in 1959 and had three children. After Sue died in 1999 after a long illness, he met the “love of his life” (as Bob often reminded her) Cecilia Sheppard in 2000 through a grieving group. In 2001, Bob moved to California to live with Cecilia. Bob and Cecilia enjoyed 14+ years together in Manteca, California. Professionally, Bob worked as a supervisor for a publishing firm called Rough Notes Company. Bob loved doing handyman projects and was an enthusiastic Colts fan. He was a devoted father, husband, and friend, always approaching life with a sense of humor, making all who met him laugh and feel at home. He had a joke and a smile for everyone he met. People he encountered were never a stranger to him.
  Bob was very well loved by all and dearly loved all of his great-grandchildren, Kiley, Connor, Brayden, and Parker Campanile,  his grandchildren; Madison Melman, Alison Mertz, Nathanael Mertz, Derek and Daniel Campanile, Katrina Tice, Sirena Mesa, and Rachelle Schmidt.
   He is survived by his wife; Cecilia Sheppard (Manteca, CA), his children; Karen Melman (Indianapolis, IN), Robin Hammer (Albuquerque, NM), Stephen Hammer (San Antonio, TX), Laureen Mesa (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Karen Schmidt (Dallas, TX), Kenneth Campanile (Laguna Beach, CA), and numerous nieces and nephews.
   Bob was proceded in death by his parents, Virgil and Mildred Hammer, his sister Mary Grimes, his brothers, James and Paul Hammer and his first wife Sue Hammer.
   A memorial service will be held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Manteca, California on December 22nd at 11:30am.

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Saturday, December 20, 2014