Laurence Hammrich

Laurence Hammrich was born in Ipswich, South Dakota in 1913 to John & Ann Hammrich. He was the fifth child born in his family of 12 children. He attended school in Edmunds County. He worked on farms and ranches until he met Hilda Cornelius Rempher of Yankton, South Dakota. They were married on October 1, 1936 in Ipswich, then purchased a farm of their own, settling in Leola, South Dakota.Their first son was born April 27, 1939 named Harlan Duane Hammrich. He was followed by the birth of his brother Ronald Laurence Hammrich on December 4, 1944 and finally a daughter. They sold their farm in 1959 and Laurence went to work at the local creamery store, B & L Market, where he drove a milk truck.During the early 60's, the Hammrich family moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota where Laurence got a job at Hub City Iron. He built gear boxes and was known for his keen ability to "fix anything".In the mid 60's, Harlan & Ron moved to Yakima, Washington due to new job opportunities at Dakota Aircraft. Two years later, Laurence, Hilda & Ronda joined the boys and their families in Yakima.After settling in Union Gap, Washington in 1968, Laurence took a job at Fruit Machinery Corporation (FMC) where he assembled fruit machinery until the mid 70's when he retired.The beginning of their retirement was spent swapping at swap meets, attending auctions, shopping at yard sales, collecting pocket watches, trading at flea markets and collecting Avon bottles. Then in 1979, Ron & Laurence decided to team up and opened R & H Second Hand in the old H & H auction barn in Yakima.This was a lively time for the Hammrichs'! They now spent their time dickering, trading, buying and selling at their own local second hand store. Many of us were frequent weekend visitors to the store and joined Laurence & Hilda at Hill's Cafe, Hole in One and the Ring-A-Ding for supper. Our lodging was provided at 206 Locust Street, the small two-bedroom house with swans in the front yard to greet us and the harvest-gold siding.The store was sold at auction in 1990 and Hilda & Laurence moved west of the mountains to Port Orchard to be closer to their three children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Laurence worked as a Security Guard at Stokes Auction Acres helping out at their monthly barn sale.Hilda preceded Laurence in death in March of 1993. Laurence remained in Port Orchard where he was a frequent visitor at Mhyre's, the bowling alley, and the "Dilly". He was independent and strong with quite a sense of humor. He will be dearly missed and was loved by many. A Graveside service will be held on March 29, 2002 at West Hills Memorial Park in Yakima, Washington.