NEW BEDFORD — Janet M. Hammond (Jan) 57, of Dartmouth, formerly of New Bedford, passed away Saturday, June 16, 2007, at St. Luke's Hospital, New Bedford, after a long and courageous battle with diabetes and related medical conditions. She was the loving and devoted wife of Peter W. Hammond, whom she first met in 1962 and spent the rest of her life with as her one true love.
Born in New Bedford in 1949, she was the daughter of the late John F. Santos and Jeanne A. Santos (Belanger). Jan and her husband Pete, moved to Dartmouth three years ago after having lived their whole lives in New Bedford.
Jan was blessed with an outstanding level of educational accomplishments, beginning with her selection by the National Junior Honor Society at Keith Junior High, graduating with highest honors in English and literature from New Bedford High School, top honors and first in her class in literature at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, 1971. She than completed her education at the University of Rhode Island, working toward her masters in literature.
She and Pete then married in 1974, having already been a devoted couple since 1962. Jan always had a keen interest in health-related food as a result of her long standing medical conditions, and, as a result, she embarked on a career in management with the Nature Food Centre Company, staying with them as a manager until the company transitioned to the G.N.C. She then worked side by side with her husband, as a forensic report editor, preparing documents and test results for presentation by her husband, as an expert forensic locksmith, in courts throughout the United States.
Retiring in 1999 due to illness, she devoted her energy to saving and caring for stray animals in the local area.
Including her husband Pete, Jan is survived by her mother, Jeanne A. (Belanger) Santos of Fairhaven; her sister, Jannine Fortier of North Kingstown, RI; her brother, Robert Santos of Harrisburg, PA; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and their children.
Calling hours are 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at the Wilson Chapel, 479 County St., New Bedford. Funeral and burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a contribution in remembrance of Jan to the Humane Society and Shelter-Southcoast, 31 Ventura Dr., Dartmouth, MA.