Funeral services for Charlene Edwards Hamman, 76, of Portales will be at 10:30 AM, Friday, April 13, 2012, at the First Baptist Church in Fort Sumner with Dr. David McFadden officiating. Burial will follow in the Fort Sumner Cemetery with Clint Edwards, Ronnie Stockton, Jason House, Gary Johnson, Jeremy House, Bobby Edwards, Jesse Davis, and Travis Stockton serving as pallbearers. All of her other grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as her nieces and nephews will be honorary pallbearers.
Charlene Edwards Hamman was born November 20, 1935, in Colorado City, TX, to the home of Virgil and Angie Robertson and died April 8, 2012, in Clovis, NM. Her father died when she was only 7 months old, and her mother later married Ben Looper who reared her as his own. Mrs. Hamman's family moved to Belen, NM, when she was a young girl. It was there that she attended school, and met Chester Edwards. She and Mr. Edwards were married in Fort Sumner on May 31, 1952. They moved from Belen to Fort Sumner to make their home in 1954. Mr. Edwards preceded her in death on July 7, 1990. Following his death, she remained in Fort Sumner until 2000, when she married William Hamman on October 17, 2000. They made their home in Tierra Amarilla until 2005, and then moved to Corpus Christi, TX. Mr. Hamman also preceded her in death on January 28, 2008, and in September of that year she moved to Portales to make her home nearer her family.
Mrs. Hamman was a dedicated wife and mother. She loved to cook and bake, and saw to it that every day there were fresh homemade goodies for her children when they came in from school. It might be donuts or rolls, but there was always a treat to have for an afternoon snack, and there was usually an extra or two. But her children immediately took a second place role when she became a "Nana" in 1974. From then on, the light of her life was her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family described her as "awesomely spunky," and the characteristic they saw lived out in her life was toughness and strength.
She was a faithful and dedicated Christian. Charlene was a member of the First Baptist Church in Fort Sumner, and taught Sunday School for first through third grade for many years. After moving to Portales, she joined the First Baptist Church. She also belonged to a bowling league for a number of years, and liked to read and crochet as long as her eyesight permitted.
She is survived by three sons and two daughters-in-law, Ronny and Alice Edwards of Brighton, CO, Steve Edwards of Greeley, CO, and Harold and Colleen Edwards of Portales; two daughters, Sandi House of Clovis and Melinda DeLaVera of Fort Sumner; a step son and daughter-in-law, Tom and Shari Hamman of Corpus Christi, TX, and a step-daughter and son-in-law, Joy and Alan Hagy of Mansfield, TX; 16 grandchildren, Ginger (Ronnie) Stockton, Clint (Sarah) Edwards, Jason House, Michele (Gary) Johnson, Jeremy House, Crystal (Philip) Phelps, Bobby Edwards, Meghan (Luke) Twitchell, Sarah (Jaime) Gonzales, Gene Gonzales, Alanna Edwards, Jesse Davis, Heidi Brown, Amber Edwards, Joshua Levario, and Brittany Levario; 13 great-grandchildren, Travis and Kaycee Stockton, Brian House, Konner, Tyler and Makenzie Johnson, Annabelle Bates, Colton Edwards, Alexander and Luther Twitchell, Jeremiah and Jacob Molinar and Stephen Nero; two brothers and a sister-in-law, Harold Robertson of Midland, TX, and John (Debbie) Looper of Portales; a step-brother, Charles (Joanne) Looper of Aubrey, TX; three sisters-in-law, Hazel Edwards and Violet Edwards of Clovis and Lois (John) Hale of Albuquerque; three nieces, Shawna (Dent) McGill, Frances (Michael) Moore, and Johnanna (Todd) Preston and two nephews, Harlan (Susan) Robertson and Dan (Candie) Robertson.
Besides her two husbands, Mrs. Hamman was preceded in death by a son, Bobby Edwards who died in 1976.
Arrangements are under the direction of Wheeler Mortuary of Portales, 575-356-4455, wheelermortuary.net Published in the Clovis News Journal and Portales News-Tribune on April 11, 2012