ORLANDO, Florida (21 Nov 2008) — James William Hammock - or Brother Jim, as he referred to himself -- touched the lives of many around him. From the churches where he ministered for more than 30 years to his missionary work in Nicaragua and Ethiopia, he lived his beliefs through his actions. "I think one of the most amazing things about him is that his dad had Alzheimer's, and Jim took care of his dad for about nine years," said Ken Smith, a friend of Hammock's for more than 30 years. "He bathed, walked and fed him, and kept him in his home, until right before his death -- it's typical of who Jim is." Hammock died Nov. 14 after suffering a heart attack while scuba diving in the Florida Keys. He was 57. Hammock was born in 1951 in Miami but grew up in Taft, just south of Orlando. His father, W.C. "Dub" Hammock, owned Hammock Roofing in Orlando. He met his future wife of 37 years, Deri Oakley Hammock, at Delaney Street Baptist Church in Orlando when they were both in seventh grade. She said they became sweethearts when she was 15 and at Boone High School; he was the only boy she ever dated. "What won me was he always had a tender heart and was very compassionate and wise beyond his years," she said. Hammock earned his bachelor's degree from Stetson University and completed a master's and a doctor of ministries degree from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He was the pastor of his first church in Punta Gorda for 2 1/2 years before moving in 1978 to First Baptist Church in Longwood, where he ministered for about 15 years. He also served as an interim pastor at several local churches, including College Park Baptist, Killarney Baptist, Downtown Baptist, First Baptist Apopka and Lockhart Baptist. | | In 2001, Hammock was the founding pastor of Compass Community Church in Apopka. The church developed a world vision, and Hammock led teams to Nicaragua, to build a mission school, and to Ethiopia, to drill a well for water. He referred to his ministry at Compass as "planting a tree under whose shade you will never sit." Hammock, who loved the outdoors, taught his children to hunt and fish. His most recent adventure and challenge was scuba diving with his sons. Son Joshua Hammock of Lake Mary said his father was a great communicator who could explain religious principles to people who ordinarily had a hard time understanding such concepts. "When he talked to you, you understood what he said," his son said. "He was a good translator of the Word." He is also survived by son J. Matthew of Chuluota; daughters Kimberly Beal of Apopka and Kelli Mitchell of Longwood; brother Joel Hammond of Orlando; and five grandchildren. Carey Hand Colonial Funeral Home, Orlando, is handling arrangements. |
