J. Hammond McNish
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A Memorial Service for J. Hammond McNish, 93, Lawrence, KS, will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, July 29, 2010 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence. Private inurnment will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence. He died Thursday, July 22, 2010 at his home.
He was born January 11, 1917 in Omaha, Nebraska the son of Jesse Clark and Clara Hammond McNish.
Mr. McNish served his country in the U.S. Army from 1941-1945 and with 82nd Airborne Division from 1951-1953.
He earned his B.S degree from the University of Nebraska in 1939 and his J.D. degree also from the University of Nebraska in 1941. He was a teaching assistant with the University of Nebraska School of Law from 1945-1946. He practiced law in Sidney, Nebraska from 1948-1970. He also served as a faculty member of the University of Kansas, School of Business from 1946-48 and again from 1970-82. While on the KU faculty, he was an adjunct professor of business law. He was the KU faculty representative to the Big Eight Athletic Conference and the NCAA from 1974-78, and a member of the Board of the KU Athletic Corporation from 1974-1978. He was chairman of that corporation’s board from 1976-78.
Mr. McNish was a 24-year board member of Douglas County Bank, and was also a board member and chairman of Tuf Wear Manufacturing Co. for many years.
In 1977, he was named the recipient of the Kansas University HOPE Award and in 1980, the Henry A. Bubb Award for distinguished teaching in business.
He was married to Marjorie Ann Barlow. She preceded him in death on November 23, 1985.
He was also preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Monica Jean McNish.
Memorials are suggested in his name to the St. Labre Indian School in Billings, MT and may be sent in care of the mortuary.
God Bless you richly, Hammond, and may you rest in the peace none of us on Earth have experienced. I hope you are having a wonderful reunion with Marj & Monica and listening to glorious music.
“What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind…”
Thank you, Hammond, for bringing poetry, art and music into my life and for being a wonderful uncle.
We have all lost a true friend and a treasured link to generations of friendship between the McNish and Kreader families. Farewell, Hammond.
Helen, Swede, Mildred, Lee & Ben Kreader & Ellie Kreader Zwart
Hammond lived a life full of compassion, curiosity, open-mindedness, patience, tolerance and understanding. His sharp intellect and wit were nourished by his love of music, art and the written word while his heart and soul thrived on the deep connection he shared with family, friends, nature and his beloved canine companions.
He was a life-long learner and teacher. He had a way of explaining very complex issues in a simple yet profound way and often managed to take the edge off of very serious subjects by sliding in some dry humor when you least expected it. Hammond was also an extremely eloquent writer. His Christmas letters always reminded me how rich a simple life could be especially if you were blessed with: a good dog by your side, a meal shared with family and friends and KU basketball and football to talk about—a winning season was just pure gravy! His handwritten signature at the bottom, was an artistic expression in itself.
Ham was an athletic, handsome and elegant man. With the lone exception being those unforgivable (even in the seventies) ivory patent leather shoes, he was always well-dressed and well-groomed.
I’ve never met anyone else who ate strawberry jam on his baked potato and sometimes listened to opera while watching college football.
Some of the best times I remember were shared with Marj, Marilyn, Betty Jo and JoLynn at the kitchen table as Ham explained the pitfalls of the latest right wing agenda while sitting in a chair that was pushed back so that only the back legs made contact with the floor. He loved knowing that we all were worried he might lose his balance. It gave him an extra twinkle in his eye and an extra edge in the debate.
I am a better person today because I knew Hammond McNish and was blessed to call myself his friend. He lived an exemplary life. I will never forget him.
Hammond my friend. What words does one say when you lose a friend such as yourself. Over the years you have influenced and taught so many, these lessons we carry with us, now rest in peace my friend.
Hammond my friend. You have been an inspriration, teacher and friend to so many. Thank you for our friendship, now rest in peace my friend.
I was just a little girl when I met Mr. Hammond McNish. Always a smile on his face, life jumping to meet you through his eyes, I think he is one of the most positive and inspiring people I have ever met. I feel as though he taught me in a moment what it is to live, to be true to your inner you. His 93 years are a testament of the human spirit. Life is a gift, even when it gets hard. Hammond McNish embodied the zest of life. I will forever see him in my mind looking so dashing and laughing happily as he would go running with his dog Cubby in the lush green grass behind his house.
Dearest Hammond, There is, indeed, an empty space on the horizon as your ship has sailed to its new port, but the wisdom, the laughter, joy, and gifts of knowledge and beauty you leave behind live on in all of us. Now you experience that "sacred Calm…A grateful Earnest of eternal Peace…"until we meet again.
Our prayers reach out to JoLynn, her mom, the Bertholds, Deolinda, and all the other friends, family members, and proteges that you have touched so deeply over the years. It is selfish, but how we wish we could have seen you once again as we had planned to do this August. Just sitting around the table, sharing, and being with you was always so wonderful, inspirational AND fun! We love you and we will miss you so…
JoLynn, we were told that Hammond did not wish folks to come to the funeral except for you and your mom, but we are in Finland anyway with Warren and family. We all send our love and prayers to you and all who feel this loss so deeply. Let us know if there is anything we can do. Love, Bob and Louise Sample and Family
“…When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular and real. I don’t wnat to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument. I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.” (-Poet Mary Oliver)
Oh, Uncle Hammond, rest assured your 93 years were more than a visit to this world. You were an elegant, loving “magician” changing the lives of anyone who knew you. You were the “most” in so many ways: the most intellectually curious person I’ve ever known, the most tolerant, eloquent and liberal of men, the most knowledgeable about everything–from animals, crops and sports to the arts, the law and politics.Trips to Sidney always meant rides around Cheyenne Country in the old blue Buick (complete with a running commentary of every ranch in sight), walks with the dogs into the Sand Hills, “wicked” croquet games with “Grandma Clara, Hammond and my dad in the backyard on King Street, and listening to the endless stories of boyhood adventures with his neighbor, Dad, as they grew up on Dodge Street, typing stories for him to read on his typewriter in the Clinton-McNish Law Office. Uncle Hammond was one of the=- two best teachers I’ve ever encountered–the other one being Marjorie.Because of those two, I spent 40 years teaching high school English. Regardless of my age or the subject, Hammond could explain anything in a simple but powerful way. That gift is genius. Most of all, however, he was the greatest, most sincere listener I have ever known–interested in everyone and everything. Some of my dearest memories were “little chats” (as he called them), sitting on the green wicker furniture on Grandma Barlow’s front porch. What I said was most important–not the ramblings of a little girl. Thinking back, I must have bored him totally with the complete plot summaries of every movie I had seen. The list of memories could go on and on. Suffice to say I will never forget your “magic” touch on my life. Thank you. The lives of the nine Barlow cousin are diminished by your death. We have lost not only a dear friend and uncle but our last link to Sidney. Rest in peace, dear Hammond, and farewell.
Ever the unforgettable mentor and friend, compassionate, thoughtful, insightful role model. Before Hammond all were equally worthy of attention and sources of knowledge to be shared freely and with great wisdom. I always marveled at how he could name which Idaho county a potato could come from just by taste – even with his customary application of jelly. My cousin always had a reverence for my ancestors in Sidney and never failed to inspire me with accounts of their fine qualities.
Hammond was truly a gentyleman of the old school and sadly the likes of him grow increasingly rare with every passing day. I pray that you are once again reveling in the company of Marj, Monica and my mother. I know you missed them dearly and are now at peace by being together again.
I heard of Hammond McNish much of my life from My mother Margaret Hammond ( Greenville , South Carolina. My grandfather Charles Potter Hammond and my father Charles Kirby Hammond have a namesake Charles Kirby Hammond IV who lives in Roseville, California.He is three years old. These names do go on, yes
I have such sweet memories of Monica, Hammond and Marge. Looking back and now in the year 2020 wish they were all still with us!
A great loss. While our lives just briefly touched for a few months in the early seventies when I was in my early teens, the generosity and warmth he himself and Marjorie extended to this slightly bewildered boy from Austria thrown into alien and sometimes baffling surroundings was such a joy and immense comfort. Their kind hospitality and gentle support have always stayed with me as a deep inspiration and great example of loving humanity. Thank you Hammond, a small part of your kindness will also live on in this corner of our fragile little planet.