Birth Date: 03/15/1946
Deceased Date: 01/04/2020
Howard L. Hammond, 73, passed away on Saturday, January 4, 2020 at UNC Rex Medical Center in Raleigh. He was born March 15, 1946 in Huntington, New York to the late Howard Hammond and Martha McDermott. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a brother-in-law, Gus.
The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 at 7:00 pm in the chapel of Casey Funeral Home and Cremations in Princeton. The burial will be at 10:30 am on Thursday, January 9, 2020 at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Smithfield, NC.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Casey Funeral Home and Cremations on Wednesday, January 8, 2020.
He is survived by his wife, Virginia (Ginny) Clancy Hammond; sons Bryan Boyd (Wendi) of Clayton, Christopher Boyd (Kelly) of Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, Kevin Boyd (Erin) of Tunkhannock, PA; daughter, Lisa Boyd-Belcher (Eugene) of Princeton; sisters, Patricia Massaro (Joseph) of Rockwood, TN, Barbara DeBella of Long Island, NY, and Linda Leone (James)of Long Island, NY; 16 grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews.
Howard, (Howie, Hambone, Hammer) was happiest under a car, fixing anything and everything he ran across. The sound of a high-octane engine reviving made his day. Growing up in Huntington Long Island in the 1960’s, he had many friends, and he was the go-to mechanic to drag race on a Friday night. He was called to serve his country at 18. Scared but willing, he served in Vietnam with distinction and honor, repairing Army vehicles under hostile fire. Glad to be home, he came back and continued his career as a mechanic. Howie quickly became interested in the drag racing scene and was very successful. Some years later he moved on to building racing engines on the stock car and modified circuits across the northeast. In 1992, he married his longtime love, Virginia Clancy. They had met and fell in love many years earlier in 1983. Deciding to take a break from cars, in 1994 he moved the family to northeast Pennsylvania, deciding to enter the Trucking field. Again, he excelled quickly, going on to own several trucks, even driving over a million miles himself. In 2007 he retired and moved again, now to North Carolina. Forever a motorhead, he continued to help anyone that needed their car repaired. Howard was a selfless man, extremely generous with his time and his skills. He will be missed by all that knew and loved him.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.caseyfh.com.
