Hamer

PENDLETON – Lewis N. Hamer, 94, of Pendleton died on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. He was cremated at his request. A memorial will be held at a later date.

Mr. Hamer was born on Feb 1, 1914, in Hoquiam, Wash. to Annie Rowley and Roscoe Norman Hamer. His father was a carpenter and sawyer at a time when Grays Harbor was a major lumber shipping port, with 13 sawmills. Mr. Hamer grew up in this booming pre-industrial-safety environment, carrying five paper routes in the morning before school, and playing on the log rafts and in the sawmills after school. One of their favorite entertainments was riding the drive belts that powered the machinery in the mill. As he later noted, it was a miracle he lived to grow up.

At the age of 15, he acquired a job driving one of the local cannery owners up and down the coast. At 17, he signed on as Able Seaman on a lumber freighter, the SS West Mahwah, which carried lumber and logs from the Pacific Northwest to and from the east coast of South America. At one point he saw three revolutions in three days. Another time, on the Amazon River, he had to dislodge a 30-foot anaconda from the anchor chain.

After this voyage, he returned to Hoquiam and finished high school, then began his career as a truck and bus driver, machinist and fleet operator. In 1932, while apprenticing in a machine shop, he fell in love with and married the boss’s daughter, Rosalie Revie. The couple lived in Grays Harbor, South Bend, and Tacoma, Wash., where he held driving jobs for several companies. In 1951, he began his 27-year career with Weyerhaeuser in Longview, Wash. During this period, he worked closely with tire manufacturers to develop new heavy-equipment tires, and designed and had built a remote-control steering trailer for extra-long loads.

After retiring from Weyerhaeuser, he worked as service manager for a Ford truck dealership in Portland. After Ford closed their heavy truck dealerships, the couple moved to Pendleton, where he was branch manager for the diesel service unit. After his 65th birthday, he went to work for the competition, Woodpecker Truck. At the age of 70, he retired for the last time.

His wife had a severe stroke shortly after that left her largely disabled. He cared for her for the next 13 years, until her death in 1999.

He is survived by his daughter, Dixie Haywood of Pendleton, S.C.; son Dale Hamer of Seattle; nine grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and one great-great granddaugther.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Rosalie, and son Clark.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis in care of Burns Mortuary of Pendleton, P.O. Box 489, Pendleton, OR 97801.