Betty Hammond Taught Women To Realize Dreams
Betty Hammond changed women’s lives. That was her passion, her mission in life. And she had a lot of fun along the way.
Hammond, with her friend and colleague Shirley Michaelsen, pioneered many of the women’s programs still in place today in Spokane, including the Displaced Homemakers program, now called Change Point.
Hammond, 70, died last week of a heart attack while pursuing another passion - travel. She and Michaelsen were on one of many trips together, this time to Mexico. Hammond’s service will be held today at 1 p.m. at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1502 W. Eighth.
Her work touched thousands of women’s lives, helping them to reach beyond their traditional roles. She showed by example how to live a richly balanced life - she was a wife, mother, high school teacher, counselor and coach before landing at Spokane Falls Community College in 1970. There, she taught women how to realize dreams, use their buried skills and then pass these new strengths onto other women.
In the 1970s, she and Michaelsen collaborated on many innovative programs for women. They started with programs on the rules of football, taught on Monday nights, and classes on etiquette. They reached out to women where they felt comfortable and then moved on to weightier things, such as communications skills and self-esteem.
Their pioneering programs continue today through the Institute for Extended Learning. Change Point, Project Self-Sufficiency and a “help line” enable women to weather transitions, get off welfare, learn jobs skills, stretch and grow. Though both women retired in 1988, they continued to teach in the many programs they helped spawn.
“We will miss what Betty has meant to our programs. She continued to teach and to share aspects of her personal life that were very inspiring to our students,” said Brenda Von Brach, manager of the institute’s Life Skills/Women’s Programs.
Hammond is survived by her husband, Jack, two sons, Doug and Floyd Hammond, two sisters and five grandchildren.
, DataTimes