Peter Clay Hamner

Peter Clay Hamner Sr., 78, of Madison Heights, VA…Dude of all Dudes, Broody Existentialist, Gentlest of Giants, passed away unexpectedly in the early morning hours of December 9, 2021 after a brief illness and sudden decline in health. Although his sweet smile and sunny disposition - said no one, ever - continued to shine, his body simply and sadly gave way as those who loved him most surrounded him with their care and affections. Pete is survived by his wife Vicki Sandifer, son Peter Clay Hamner Jr. and his wife Mary Ellen, daughter Sarah Dustin Eshelman and her husband Pete, and grandchildren Julian, Sage, and Troy Hamner, and Case and Sally Eshelman. Pete was born August 20, 1943 to the late Lt. Henry Rawlings Hamner (USN) and the late Elsie McDowell Jackson Hamner in Lynchburg, VA. Young Pete lost his father to a kamikaze attack April 6, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa. Lt. Hamner was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for heroism. The Navy christened a new Gearing-class destroyer warship the USS Hamner DD-718 in his honor. Leaving his mother heartbroken with 2yo Pete and his 6-month-old sister, Susan (now deceased), without a father, his mother eventually remarried Walter Kelly Sr. (also of Lynchburg) and settled on Link Road where Pete’s half-brother, Walter Jr. and half-sister Ann (both deceased), soon joined the family. As a youth, Peter enjoyed school, swimming and fishing, playing basketball and tennis, and visiting with his extended family in town. Pete graduated from E.C Glass High School in 1961 and enlisted in the U.S. Army as a medic for two years. Following an honorable discharge from the Army in 1963, Pete entered Randolph Macon College in Ashland, VA. During his visits home, Pete snatched the heart of his soon-to-be wife, Sally deNiord, on the tennis courts of Lynchburg’s Boonsboro Country Club with a flash of his baby blues, a well-worked tan, and his sweet yet booming voice. They eloped in 1966, had a son, Peter Jr. in 1967, and Pete graduated in 1968 with a B.A. in English, followed by an M.A. in English from the University of Virginia in 1970. His first teaching position launched at Eastern Shore Community College. The family moved to Wallops Island, VA where Pete effortlessly continued his tanning endeavors, put his deep and sultry voice to work as a DJ for a local radio station, and began honing his imperfect teaching skills. Eager to return the family to Lynchburg, Pete accepted a teaching position at Central Virginia Community College in 1973. After settling into the little white house on Locksview Rd, Pete and Sally brought daughter Sarah Dustin into the world in 1974. On any given day, it was common to enter the house to Pete’s resounding music – a wide array with one goal…it had to move you: orchestral pieces, operettas, jazz and so much rock and roll. Over the next 43 years of his very meaningful career at CVCC Pete would go on to achieve his own modest level of greatness instructing thousands of students in literature and English writing. Slipping on his shades and sliding into his 1963 Austin Healy convertible, Pete, unashamed, rumbled his way down the road to his classroom where he ardently discussed the symbolism of Melville’s Moby Dick, the transcendentalism of Thoreau’s Walden or the depths of Dante’s “Inferno.” He challenged his students to think for themselves and often rocked the boat with the best of intentions and an undeniable presence that emanated empathy. After 20 years of passionate yet tumultuous marriage with Sally, it eventually ended, yet Pete and Sally remained amicable, especially at family events and holidays. Pete eventually sought out the rural retreat of Amherst County’s Morris Orchard where he lived for many years under the majestic spell of Tobacco Row Mountain, the surrounding hills and apple trees, and the charmed company of his beloved shih tzu, Maggie. It was during this time that the much evolved and settled man, Pete, now a grandfather and referred to as Papa, fell into the calm embrace of his love and companion, Vicki Sandifer. Together 22 years until the recent end of his days, Vicki and Pete eventually settled into a new home in the Elon area of Madison Heights where they fell into a loving and supportive community of friends. Over the years, Pete’s charming vanity kept him ridiculously fit and good looking: he was never without a thick stash of Bounty paper towels in his back pocket to catch the rivers of sweat after routine workouts or his trusty canister of Quaker oats on the kitchen counter - Every. Single. Morning. He loved his family above all else and never missed a moment to leave sweet sentiments scribbled on scraps of paper or on the inside flap of a book. Pete taught us all not to sweat the small stuff; he practiced patience and gratitude and kindness…regularly celebrating the little things in life. Returning home each day after fervent classroom discourse, Pete would sit in thought, gathering stacks of books at his flanks, and settle into the day’s final hours with a glass of wine, chicken crisping on a hot charcoal grill, and his two ladies, Vicki and Maggie, relaxing nearby. Cheers Dad…All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh. The Church is asking that mask be worn while inside the Church. There will a be a memorial/celebration of life on Tuesday, December 21st at Bethany United Methodist Church in Monroe at 11:00am.