Obituary notice for
John Leslie "Jack" Hamner     70
04/22/1938   ~   03/20/2009

      John Leslie "Jack" Hamner, 70, lost his long battle with Parkinson's disease Friday afternoon, March 20, 2009.

      Jack was born April 22, 1938, to Halbert A. and Margaret (Mooney) Hamner.   He was raised in Anaconda during his younger years because his parents had homesteaded in the Deer Lodge Valley in the early 1900s.

      In the 1950s, his family moved to Rocker where he attended the Rocker School and then went on to graduate from Butte High School in 1957.

      Jack always had two equally strong passions - music and law.   His love for music showed when he played many instruments by ear (violin, fiddle, trumpet, banjo and organ).

      His strong interest in the legal profession drove him to work all day as a law clerk for Jack McCarthy and study many late nights.

      Jack took and passed the Montana Bar exam at the young age of 22 in 1960, without ever having stepped foot into a college classroom.   At the time he was the youngest person to have ever passed the exam.

      Jack enlisted in the U.S. Marines in 1959.   He received an honorable medical discharge and returned home.   Upon his return, he began his legal practice which be continued until recent years.

      Due to the Parkinson's disease, Jack was forced to semi-retire.   He decided to go to college to obtain an associate's degree in GIS/GPS.   He succeeded in 1999.   He also had a strong interest in ham radio and was a ham radio operator since the late 1950s.   He was licensed with Navy-Marine MARS since 1990.

      On Dec. 14, 1974, he married Lori Foust in Elma, Wash.   They made their home that he had personally constructed in Rocker.   They had three children who made him very proud.

      Jack was able to stay home due to the love and care of two very important people - his son, Arik Foust Hamner and his best friend, Wally Wlaysewski.   The family is eternally grateful.

      Jack has accomplished a lot in his life - but above all - he was a great friend, a loving father and a doting grandfather.   He will be missed by those who loved him.

      Survivors include his ex-wife, Lori and children, Kari, and Arik of Butte, and Misti Sandon of Helena.;   and his grandchildren, Zach Hamner, Savannah VanValkenburgh, Kaylee Tannehiul, Tyler Haniner of Butte, and Kayci and Rhys Sandon of Helena.   Also surviving are a sister, Catherine (Kitty) Salvaggi, and her children, Mike and Angie Salvaggi and their family, Joe and Darci;   Mary Theresa Hanson (Charles), and Tracy, Patty and Barry Hanson in Elma Washington;   sister and brother-in-law, Dorothy and Jim Rowe, their children Jim and Jennifer, and their daughters, Michelle and Katie Rowe in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho;   and brothers-in-law and sister-in-law, Ted, Dan, and Tim Faust, Theresa Craighead and families.   Extended family includes numerous cousins which include Phil (Irene) Weist, Jim Weist and Gladys Weist in Anaconda, Donna (Ron) Aafedt in Great Falls and Don Laundreville in Canby, Ore.

      Preceding him in death were his parents, his brother-in-law, John Salvaggi, his son-in-law, Aaron Sadon, and his nephew, Charley Hanson.

      Cremation has taken place.

      Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Duggan Dolan Mortuary Chapel.   Interment and military honors will be held at 2 p.m. in Anaconda.

      Memorials are suggested to the family to assist with final expenses and may be sent to Kari Hamner, 104 Bobcat Trail, Butte, 59701.

      Express condolences at www.mtstandard.com/obits

Published in The Montana Standard on 03/11/2009.
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Page created: Apr. 01, 2009 and modified: Apr. 11, 2009