Everyone who really knew Ted Hammock would say that his Memorial Service at the UGA Chapel on the 24th of February reflected his character and nature in high fidelity. We heard “his” words as he had written much of what he wanted said, and the messages of letters he had written to a close friend over the years underscored what had always mattered most to him – fairness, justice, democratic and Democratic principles and practices. There is a statue of Gandhi in Washington D.C. with the words, “My life is my message.” This could also be said of Ted.
For over twenty years Ted was an integral part of an unofficial group of great friends amusingly self-named The Usual Suspects. We have dined together, traveled together, and would use almost weekly any excuse to be together, often gathering “at the last moment” on a Friday at our homes for drinks, jokes, and political prattle. Loud and of strong opinion, talking in a great cacophony, we have waxed on for hours about the news of the moment. I think most of the time we were listening to our individual selves, but when Ted spoke, we’d listen more carefully – not only for his wisdom but because we loved the sound of his bourbon voice. (One of his key features that attracted Margie to him at Troy State!)
Ted was a liberal practicing Democrat his entire life. At a belated birthday party for him just two days before his passing, he was still rejoicing the outcome of the election. The Usual Suspects were not as exciting to him I imagine in our political chatter, because we were aligned in our thinking. What is more impressive was his capacity to befriend people confident in other brands of politics with whom he established enduring conversations and deliberations. We loved Ted because he was wise, humane, humorous, compassionate, and true to us and to himself. We grieve realizing we won’t see Ted again at our gatherings, but we celebrate our capacity to evoke his voice. We know very well what he thought about most things that matter in life.
This next section was written by Larry Dendy for the Local Athens Democrats:
Athens lost one of its most ardent Democrats, and the world lost a determined champion for advancing human welfare, when Ted Hammock died of heart failure on Feb. 15 at the age of 77. Ted’s commitment to the democratic values of freedom, justice, opportunity and civility was uncompromising. Strong-willed, straightforward, sometimes strident, he rarely was at a loss for an opinion. But it was his bedrock integrity, keen intellect, sharp wit and immovable dedication to human rights and civil liberties that won him the respect and affection of friends and even those of differing political persuasions. As his friend Margaret Holt recalled, “There is a statute of Gandhi in Washington, D.C., with the words ‘My life is my message.’ That could also be said of Ted.” Ted devoted much of his adult life to education and politics, two arenas he believed were our best hope for achieving a society built on the principles he cherished. A native of Thomson, he served in the Navy in the Korean War, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Georgia, and began his career in education at Troy State University in Alabama
where he was dean of men and taught political science. In 1962, he returned to UGA to work in the Institute of Law and Government. Later he helped develop the Institute of Higher Education at UGA and was assistant vice president for instruction. He also worked nine years at the National Science Center Foundation in Augusta, an organization that developed computer software for teaching high school mathematics. But it was politics that fired Ted’s enthusiasm and fueled his passion. And there was no doubt where his political bias lay. In his newspaper obituary-- which, characteristically, he wrote himself--and in his instructions for his public memorial service, he emphasized that he was “a liberal Democrat” and proud of it. He attributed his liberal leaning to his love of the Bill of Rights, a document he treasured as the foundation for protection of our fundamental rights as American citizens and in whose defense he proudly proclaimed a decades-long membership in the American Civil Liberties Union. As his long-time friend Loran Smith, who presided at his memorial service, recalled, “Any political achievement by the Democratic party gave Ted unending pleasure (and) he steadfastly believed the country
was better off when it was in the hands of Democratic leadership.” Ted was active in the Democratic party at both the state and local levels, serving on the state Democratic Committee in the 1970s and 1980s and later on the Clarke County Democratic Committee, where he was vice chair for fundraising for several years. He was the county committee’s appointee to the Clarke County Board of Elections from 2003 until his death. Ted even earned a living at politics, serving nine years as administrative assistant to former U.S. Rep. Doug Barnard, whose
campaign he managed in Clarke County. He also served his community through active membership in the Kiwanis Club of Athens and as a board member of Talmage Terrace/Lanier Gardens. But despite his unwavering allegiance to the Democratic party and impassioned adherence to a liberal political philosophy, one of Ted’s endearing traits was a willingness to put personal relationships above political rivalry. Though he had no tolerance for extreme, religious-based conservatism, he relished lively political discussions and enjoyed many friendships with people of differing political views whose insights and good will he respected. Loran Smith noted that although Ted politically was “to the left” of his own views, they engaged over many years in a spirited debate on politics and religion. “Never was there a time when I had a conversation with Ted that I didn’t learn something,” said Loran, who remembered Ted as “a man of
enduring integrity...the ultimate proponent of honesty and fair play.” Margaret Holt and Ted were among a group of neighbors, dubbed The Usual Suspects, who for more than 20 years gathered for food, drink and conversation. “Loud and of strong opinion, talking in a great
cacophony, we have waxed on for hours about the news of the moment,” Margaret remembers. “Most of the time we were listening to our individual selves, but when Ted spoke, we’d listen more carefully–not only for his wisdom, but because we loved the sound of his bourbon
voice.” Loran also pointed to Ted’s abhorrence of racism and his commitment to civil rights. Ted “had the audacity both to look into the mirror and see himself, and to look through windows and see every man and every woman to be rightful heirs of the true intent of a democratic society.”
The Clarke County Democratic Committee mourns the loss of Ted, a friend and colleague who, as Margaret and Loran noted, was wise, humane, inclusive, selfless, compassionate and true to himself and his convictions. As Loran observed, “If serving your fellow man is like paying your rent, Ted was fully paid up.”
