Obituaries

A tribute from her son, Griffin Hammond:

My mom Carol Griffin Hammond died Friday night, October 14, 2022—unexpectedly, but peacefully in her sleep. At home in Saint Charles, Illinois. She was 67.

That morning she’d seen my wife Amy Stringwell and our son Peter—who loves his sweet “Mimi” deeply—at the Farmers Market. Friday afternoon she happily called to tell me she’d bring “watermelon radish, orange and goat cheese salad” to our family dinner Saturday.

Her daughter Elizabeth Hammond and I are devastated—so are Carol’s brothers J.P. Griffin and Mike Griffin, and their families, her mother Alexa Griffin, and so many friends whose lives are more joyous having known her.

We’ll be okay, because Carol taught us to be endlessly optimistic, empathetic, and to leave the Earth better than we found it.

She understood that her blood—O negative—is the most needed type for transfusions, so she donated often. As recently as this month, and to the American Red Cross alone: at least 48 times since 1990.

When a pre-dawn electrical fire engulfed Carol’s apartment complex in 2018, she banged on doors to wake up her neighbors. The Bloomington, Illinois firefighters credited her with saving lives—everyone escaped without injury.

She loved helping students—as a special education aide at Neuqua Valley High School, with English language learners at Scripps Ranch High School, and as a testing assistant at Heartland Community College.

Carol strived to live healthy, carefully journaling her blood sugar levels, living with Type 2 diabetes.

Born in San Francisco (1954), Carol Stephanie Griffin competed on the St. Joseph High School volleyball team in Hilo, Hawaii. Her class-of-1972 yearbook quote: “Wake up every morning with a smile on your face.”

For a dramatic change of climate, she relocated from Hawaii to Cedar Rapids, Iowa—to study religion and philosophy at Coe College. Carol graduated in 1976, and married an equally kind man, Gene Hammond, in 1979. Theirs was a perfect partnership—full of laughter and love—with two babies, and more dramatic relocations: from Roswell, Georgia; to Naperville, Illinois; to San Diego.

After 26 years of marriage, Carol lost Gene to cancer in 2006. And her father Ken Griffin in 2015. But gained a grandson in 2018, and moved to Saint Charles, Illinois to see him often. Peter loves retelling her stories: Just before his third birthday he said, “Mimi used to live somewhere cool, and there were lots and lots of volcanoes. And they were spilling all over and making a big mess of lava.”

She’ll be remembered for her stories, for her kindness, for her love of plants and animals, and her warm smile.

To celebrate her life, we’ve scheduled a memorial:
Saturday, November 12, 2:00pm
Yurs Funeral Home
405 E Main Street
Saint Charles, IL 60174
(630) 584-0060
All who loved her are welcome.

Please, no need to send flowers our way. Just do as Carol did—give love to your family, give blood if you can, and give energy to your local community

For further information call Yurs Funeral Home 630-584-0060

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