Catherine Marie Hammond passed away November 27th, 2022, at age 82 in Littleton, Colorado.

Catherine (Cathy) was born March 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. Upon graduating from high school, she moved away from Chicago's city lights and sought out a new adventure in Colorado. Her passion for ice skating led her to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, where she turned down an offer to skate professionally with the Ice Capades, and instead decided to study at the University of Colorado. Her early interests included everything from veterinary medicine to geology.

Her studies were cut short when she met the love of her life, Joe Hammond, in October of 1962, and the two were married in Englewood two months later on December 15. At 22, Cathy was a young bride and new stepmom to Joe's two youngest boys.

In 1965, Joe & Cathy moved to Steamboat Springs and became "ski parents" for their boys and their new young daughter. The family grew by one more daughter before moving to Longmont in 1970, and then Paonia, Colorado, in 1972. Here, Cathy juggled raising two daughters, managing a career, and caring for her aging mother with ease and grace. Joe and Cathy were married for 30 years until Joe's death on February 18, 1992.

Cathy's penchant for numbers and details was a natural fit for her career as a legal secretary and for running her own business as a licensed tax accountant. She enjoyed helping people, and had an especially patient and kind demeanor with the elderly. Visits with her mother in the nursing home were never a hurried affair because Cathy would take the time to talk with so many other residents as well. She enjoyed learning Spanish, coin collecting, and following (and sometimes joining) her children's and grandchildren's travels and adventures. She had a soft spot in her heart for cats and found joy in tending her home and gardens and chatting with friends and clients around town.

Catherine was preceded in death by her mother and father, Cecilia & Raymond Berndt, her husband Joe Hammond, and her stepson Scott Hammond. She is survived by her two daughters, Chris Mendenhall and Callee (and Jeff) Ernest; two of her stepsons, Bill Hammond and Greg (and Diane) Hammond; eight grandchildren: Kevin Bass, Elise (and Josh) Eberhard, Natasha (and Joe) Felton, Caitlin Mendenhall, Andy (and Viktoria) Mendenhall, Griffin Ernest, Carli Hammond, and Riley Hammond; and three great-grandchildren, Bennett Eberhard, Sterling Eberhard, and William Felton.

Cathy's loving spirit will be missed greatly. Her body will be entombed alongside that of her husband at a private family ceremony on December 7 at Mountain View Cemetery in Longmont, Colorado, and the family is planning a memorial service in the spring in Paonia, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Citizens for Animal Welfare and Shelter (CAWS) in Paonia, at https://cawsonline.org , or the Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org/ .