- Date Of Birth: January 28, 1943
- Date Of Death: May 8, 2016
- State: Michigan
David Eugene Hamman 1/28/1943 – 5/8/2016
David Eugene Hamman, 73, of Ann Arbor, MI, formerly of Flint and Brighton, Mich., died of heart failure on Sunday, May 8, after suffering with Parkinson’s disease for more than a decade. He was a person with a strong sense of service and religious conviction, which he learned by example from his parents. A son of missionaries Roy Hamman and Elsie “Fern” Minzey, David was born in the mission hospital at Ippy in French Equatorial Africa, now Central African Republic. He lived in Africa as a child until the death of his mother in 1951, after which he and his brother Richard returned to the United States to live in a country home for missionary children in Pennsylvania. In 1957 he moved to Mishawaka, Ind., after his father took up the pastorate of his home church, First Baptist Church of Mishawaka, there. David graduated from Mishawaka High School as the salutatorian of his class in 1960, and remained a seeker of news and knowledge throughout his life. David attended Cedarville College (now Cedarville University) and Central State College in Ohio simultaneously. He graduated with honors in 1964 with two degrees: a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of science. He taught for one year in the Pontiac Public Schools before getting a job at Ford Motor Company. He worked for the rest of his career in the auto industry as a systems analyst, starting at a time when computers were just beginning to be used in industry. He later used his specialized knowledge as a consultant with Visteon and Compuware. Consulting allowed him to travel to foreign countries including Brazil and Mexico, which he enjoyed. He also followed in his parents’ footsteps taking leadership positions in the churches he attended, whether it be teaching Sunday School or building a softball field. He helped support his father and stepmother, Mary Kneeland Hamman, also a former missionary, until their deaths in 1996 and 2002. David moved to University Living assisted living in Ann Arbor in 2015 when his disease made him unable to live at home in Flint. At University Living he remained useful by refurbishing the home’s outdoor benches and starting a weekly record and video party where residents enjoyed their old LPs and home movies. He is preceded in death by his brother, Richard; his second wife, Sheila Joy Hamman; and his stepson, Manuel Gonzalez. He is survived by his wife, Marguerite “Sue” Gonzalez Hamman, two stepdaughters, Angie (Brian) Miller and Carolina Gonzalez, five step-grandchildren and one step great-grandchild. He is also survived by brothers Donald and Charles, daughter Lisa Jevens (Daniel Berland), daughter Jennifer, son Douglas (Dana), and grandson, Grayson.
