Doug Hammons was a friend of mine and a man of few words. But when he did speak, he had strong opinions about just about everything. He came from humble beginnings and worked every day to improve his life and those around him. Doug had a myriad number and types of jobs during his lifetime. He often spoke of his time in the military, as an electrician and in construction. But he was most proud of his time with the Denton County Sheriff’s Department. Doug was especially proud of his work promoting the Mental Health Unit rising to the rank of Lieutenant and its leader.
He was frugal with everything except when it came to his wife, Bettye. Whatever she needed he worked hard to get. Doug often remarked about the sewing budget they had established from his sound gig money, so she would be kept in material so she could keep producing her beautiful quilts.
They were long-time residents of Little Elm where they both served their community back in the day when old-timers referred to it as Little Elum. Both were some of the first volunteer firefighters in their town and both served as paramedics for the Department. For a time, Doug served as Chief. Bettye was a long-time bus driver for the school district.
When I was first invited to their home, I couldn’t help but notice the rural flavor of the place. Little Elm has grown significantly in the past few years as most of North Texas has, but turning south onto South Hillside Drive brought you back to days gone by and Doug liked it that way. There was the dusty dirt road, the pump house, the house, the barn and pasture. You felt like you had entered the set of Lonesome Dove waiting for Robert Duvall to ride out. I often kidded Doug for living in a nature preserve when he complained of the coyotes, snakes, raccoons and armadillos wandering through their property and under their house. But he never complained about seeing the deer coming from the Corps property behind their home.
After retirement, he came to the Court Security Officer Program at the Federal District Court for North Texas in Plano, Texas. That’s where we met and became co-workers and friends. That’s where I learned of his true passions….music and sound production. He convinced me to join him on several occasions to help load-in, hoist light bars, run cable, tear down and load-out. Doug had a great ear and could make any “fool on a stool” sound amazing. On each occasion, Doug would inevitably smack his head into the top rail of his trailer door and bleed profusely. If anybody noticed, he had a permanent dent in his crown and it became a running joke whenever we worked together.
Doug started his musical journey back when he was in the military in Germany where he practiced the guitar and drums, joined a band and became familiar with sound equipment. He progressed to full blown sound production in later years (first Palmer Sound Productions then American Sound Productions) where he carted around his gear to various venues, big and small, from the VFW in Denton to the UNT Stadium for 4th of July and the stage at the North Texas State Fair and a week of meals at his favorite Chinese Buffet.
About that....turns out, Doug had another passion….fresh shrimp. Once inside the New China King Buffet, he would immediately head for the iced shrimp bowl and shovel copious amounts of shrimp onto a plate and go for seconds and even thirds if the management didn’t immediately close the shrimp station.
I often made fun of his southern accent, which he said he DIDN'T have and complained I was the one with an accent coming from California and how I and my cohorts were single-handedly ruining the culture of his Texas. Mimicking his accent, I actually had to use it at work to help a wayward DPS Officer get his prisoner to the prisoner sally port at the Courthouse. Doug didn’t stop laughing for about an hour. His retort was,"Ya know..that was pretty good."
If I were asked to describe Doug, the first word that comes to mind is Loyal. He was generous with what he had and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Whenever I was having a particularly bad day, Doug would saunter up and ask, “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” (visualize Sam Elliot speaking, yes...THAT accent)). We would retreat back to the kitchen and trade war stories until I forgot what I was upset about.
Doug was a God-fearing man and knew his Maker well. This was a comfort in his final days and assured that he would enter the promised land.
As Jesus explained it to disbelievers in John 5 verse 24:"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."
Doug Hammons leaves behind a loving wife, family and many friends. Thank you, Doug, for being in our lives. Thank you, Doug, for being my friend.
