Theodore ‘Ted’ W. Hammer

Theodore Wayne (Ted) Hammer, age 76, of Wabasha, MN passed away Friday, March 24, 2023 at Gundersen Hospital, La Crosse, WI.
Ted was born on March 10, 1947 in Fargo, ND to Morton Francis (Fran) and Irene Evelyn (nee Knudston) Hammer. He lived in Halstad, MN and Hitterdal, MN before the family moved to Wabasha in 1953. Ted was a proud member of the championship-winning West Side Tiger boys baseball team in his youth. With extra-curricular activities that included football, track, band, and choir, he graduated from Wabasha High School in 1965. Ted earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Contemporary Chinese History from Augsburg College in Minneapolis in 1972.
He moved to Wabasha shortly after college and was employed over the years at Wabasha Transfer, Wabasha VFW, Wabasha American Legion, Wabasha Municipal Liquor Store, Dolphin Canoe, and Wabasha Culligan. Ted purchased the West Side Store and Tavern in 1978. He operated the tavern until 2020.
Ted’s interests included gardening, canoeing Minnesota and Wisconsin rivers, sailing on Lake Pepin, cruising on Yard’s houseboat, British sports cars, volleyball, softball, biking, and current events. He was a founding member of the Johnny Reds softball and volleyball franchise. He visited his grandmother every day when she lived in Wabasha, providing the assistance she needed to live independently. He did the same for his mother when she was widowed. Ted was hard-working, intelligent, unique, free-spirited, and strong-willed. He lived his life the way he wanted. He endured some serious health issues in his later years. Ted is now at peace and symptom-free.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Ann Marie Hammer.
Ted is survived by his brother James and sister-in-law Colleen Hammer of Hudson, WI; niece Melissa Hammer of Minneapolis, MN; niece Julia Hammer of Charleston, SC; and several cousins.
A gathering in Ted’s memory may be held at a later date.
The family wishes to express sincere thanks to the aids, nurses, doctors, and staff at Gundersen-St. Elizabeth’s in Wabasha for the compassionate care provided to Ted over the years. The family deeply appreciates the decades of assistance given to Ted by many friends - too many to name in entirety and some sadly no longer with us. Special thanks to Shovel, JJ, Jerry, Daisy, and Tim.
Services entrusted to Abbott Funeral Home & Crematory, Wabasha, MN. Words of sympathy or remembrance may be left at www.abbottfh.com