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Jeanette Mary Constance 'Gina' Hammond

December 30, 2021

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January 15, 1937 - December 30, 2021
It is with great sadness, but many treasured memories, we announce the passing of Jeanette Hammond.
Gina was a vibrant and social person with a mischievous sense of humor, who always enjoyed gatherings, and while she lived a life filled with travel and adventure, she also loved simply sharing a cup of tea, or a glass of wine and a laugh at home with family and friends.
She was strong and independent. She was a truly remarkable mother and grandmother; always kind, considerate, caring and happy to help or listen.
Gina was born to British Railways and hotel executive, Thomas Rowe, and his beloved wife Connie Rowe. She spent her early childhood in South London during World War II and would tell of nights where Doodlebugs (V1 flying bombs) would pass over the house, exploding moments later, and of nights with air raid sirens and enemy bombers overhead. She never made it sound terrifying or traumatic; it was just the way things were.
She spent her school years at Parsons Meade, in Ashtead Surrey, and formed lifelong friendships there. In June 1963, on a blind date to the Dartmouth Naval College Ball, she met her future husband Dr. Keith Hammond. Within six months they married in Salcombe, Devon.
In 1965 they made the bold step of immigrating to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan where they spent the next four years. It was during this time their first son Tim was born. In 1969 they decided to return to England, purchase a 35ft sailboat and experience life on the water.
The young family spent the next couple of years sailing across the Atlantic, throughout the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal. They eventually ended up in Vancouver, Canada where their second son Malcolm was born.
Having two children didn't slow Gina down. As a family of four they continued their boating adventures, and in a humble 20ft power boat they went up the west coast of British Columbia, through the inside passage to Glacier Bay Alaska.
The following year they took the same boat across the Great Slave Lake, down the Mackenzie River, into the Arctic Ocean to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT.
In 1978 Gina and Keith moved to a waterfront home in Cedar by the Sea, Nanaimo BC, where they raised their family and continued with their various travels and adventures. In total they spent more than 52 years together before Keith passed away in 2016; through the many years and events they shared, they were always a wonderful and loving couple.
Gina was a fantastic homemaker, skilled at interior decorating, excellent at sewing and always kept the house in season and welcoming.
Her passing on the evening of December 30, 2021, was unexpected and sudden. She leaves behind her heartbroken sons Timothy (Kyoko) and Malcolm (Alison), and grandchildren Thomas and Lisa, Jack and Will.
Gina was predeceased by her husband Keith and her sister Dorena Rowe.
A celebration of Gina's life will be announced at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nanaimo Hospital Foundation.


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