William Wilbert Hamman - incredible Husband, Dad, Brother, Grandpa, Great Grandpa, and Friend; died Monday, April 29, surrounded by the overwhelming love of his adoring family. Together we celebrate an amazing life

Born March 9, 1941, on a farm in Nauvoo, IL, he was the third of four sons of Ira and Evelyn Hamman. Together with his brothers he learned about life through a childhood filled with the endless chores of life on a farm. Milk the cows, feed the Duroc hogs & run from the bees before having to walk miles to a one room schoolhouse in the snow up hill & against the wind both ways (because they were four kids with a three kid horse.) When they got home he would bug his brothers to play ball with him every day with an old pick axe handle and a rubber ball.

Attending Western Illinois University on a basketball scholarship, he worked his way through as a student manager for Saga Foods. Starting his career in the dish room he stayed on after graduation as a manager and made a great impact upon all he led and empowered. For instance, when he went to Scheimer College, in addition to leading the staff to make a difference in the students lives; he covertly took over the mens basketball team after the college discontinued it. He and the players just sent in the forms and paperwork as if the school hadn't defunded and discontinued the program and he led the team to turning around, becoming competitive and winning games after being winless for so long as an official team that the school gave up.

While in Kankakee he pitched for the Kankakee Feds and led the team to many trips to nationals and ultimately landed in the Softball Hall of Fame. He loved the game and loved the team of people he played it with even more. That family was there to support him during the tragic loss of his first wife Pat, mother to his five children. And in addition to the beautiful family he had from Nauvoo, his softball family was there to help him lead a new family with three extra people, his wife Careen and two more sons.

As a family, we traveled around the country in this huge van on these great adventures to softball tournaments and laughed & loved our way to becoming a truly blended family. One time he pitched 6 games in a single day and won them all against the worlds best competition in an invitational tournament. Our Dad was like Superman (but gigantic) and our lives were filled with fresh-squeezed lemonade & ball park sausages. It was truly an amazing childhood - the Brady Bunch had nothing on us and we had one more kid and one less housekeeper!

He moved his family to Orlando, FL in 1979 as Division Vice President for Saga Foods. In 1986 Marriott bought Saga and ten other contract food services companies and entrusted Bill as President to lead the formation of one world-leading company from the dozen companies. With the skills he learned through life on the farm he led his teams to empower and support the people who took care of the customers; the line servers, cooks, dishwashers and other hourly workers. His simple kind ways and unbelievable work ethic led him to success which took him around the globe to incredible travels and experiences with world leaders and captains of industry. Because of that success, he was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2000, conferred an honorary doctorate by his alma mater, and served on the Board of Directors of both the Marriott Corporation and Western Illinois University.

He and Careen made a beautiful summer home in Blowing Rock, NC, and had epic Fourth of July celebrations for his family. The home is one of the jewels overlooking the historic Blowing Rock golf course; and for the last 20 years he tended the garden, served the humming birds, and only pretended to try to outsmart the chipmunks the neighbors chased away. (He gave them their own pail of bird food on the sly) Their huge stone porch & epic celebrations were something straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting and he and Careen each drove their own golf carts from the cart garage in their home & loved that game together.

Those left with a Bill-sized hole in in their hearts include his wife of 42 years, Careen; his children, Brenda (Kevin), Brad (Genelle), Al (Ava), Brian, Jeff (Michelle), Jennifer, Eric (Licelys), and Queenie (his favorite child); his grandchildren, David (Samantha), Amanda (Will), Amber, Anna, Kyle, Zach, Jessica, Joey, Anthony, Chandler, Will, Grace, Harrison, Madeline, and Cole; & great-great grandchildren Dom, Danny, Wyatt and Finley. He also leaves behind his brothers, Fred (Ann), Don (Coleen) and Dick (Nancy); his sister-in-law, Pat Rosebraugh (David) and his brother-in-law, Dan Stocker; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. His son Jim was there to greet him in heaven with open arms and a Waterford glass of Dewars

Services will be Monday May 6th at Annunciation Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs, Fl; Bill and Careen's church. Viewing at 2:30, mass at 3:00. We will then take him home to rest in our family cemetery in Nauvoo Illinois. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Hamman Grandchildren's College Fund. Arrangements by DeGusipe Funeral Home
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