Elizabeth Lee Hammill

Elizabeth (Lib) Lee Williams Hammill, 87, of Gold Hill, NC, passed away on Sunday, May 14, 2017, at Tucker Hospice House in Kannapolis, following a short period of declining health.

A celebration of her life will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 18, at Bethlehem United Methodist Church, 3335 Bethlehem Church Road, Gold Hill, where she was a member for 70 years. The Rev. Beverly M. Maulden and the Rev. Rick Durham will officiate, and burial will follow in the church cemetery. The Hammill family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Gordon Funeral Home in Mt. Pleasant. 

Elizabeth was born in Lenior County, NC, on Sept. 18, 1929, to Walter Spencer Williams and Margie Elizabeth Earnhardt Williams. When she was three-and-a-half years old, her mother died and her mother’s parents, John and Willie Earnhardt, took in Elizabeth, her brother and her sister, rearing them at their home in Cabarrus County.

A 1947 graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School, Elizabeth married Billy Joseph Hammill on Sept. 20, 1947, a marriage that lasted 57 years before he passed away on Dec. 21, 2002. In addition to her beloved Billy, her parents and grandparents, Elizabeth was predeceased by her brother, John Williams; her sister, Billie W. Ridenhour; two sons, Joseph Kerry Hammill (2007) and wife Sharon(2016) and Alton Lee Hammill (2016); and a grandson, Cary Grant Hammill (2014).

Her greatest joys were as a homemaker, mother and grandmother. When she took time for herself she enjoyed quilting, working crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. As long as her health allowed, she participated in activities at Mt. Pleasant Senior Center, the St. John’s Grange of which she was a member and the Mt. Pleasant Food Ministry. In her younger days, she enjoyed traveling, both on bus tours and on day trips by car. All her days, she was an avid reader. 

Survivors include four sons, Walter Kelly Hammill (Lana), Larry Williams Hammill (Penny), Barry Allison Hammill (Gina), and David Scott Hammill (Laura); a daughter, Libby Ann H. Flowers (Wayne); daughter-in-law, Janis Raymer Hammill; 14 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and friend and helper, Cris Ridenhour.

Contributions in Elizabeth’s memory may be directed to Bethlehem United Methodist Church’s mailing address, 535 St. Stephens Church Road, Gold Hill, NC, 28071; Tucker Hospice House, 5003 Hospice Lane, Kannapolis, NC, 28081