Robert Eugene "Bob" Hammack

Robert ("Bob") Eugene Hammack passed away November 1. He was born October 3, 1948 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and grew up in Oklahoma City, attending Madison Grade School, Cleveland Elementary, Taft Junior High and Northwest Classen High School. After briefly attending Panhandle A&M on a football scholarship, he transferred to Oklahoma State University, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity and active in many campus activities. After earning a B.S. degree in journalism, Bob began a distinguished career in advertising. In 1977, he opened his own agency, New West Group. Renowned for his creativity, Bob won hundreds of local and national awards for advertising excellence. He was a multiple "Best of Show" winner in annual American Advertising Federation (AAF) creative contests, and amassed several industry accolades, including the highly prized "Gabriel Award," one of only four awards presented by The Vatican for public service work worldwide. A member of the Oklahoma City Advertising Club for almost four decades, Bob proudly served as an officer and contributed to many committees. In 1999, he received the AAF's prestigious Silver Medal Award award, the highest recognition given in advertising, for outstanding contributions to the profession. Bob prioritized service to his community and volunteered much of his time and talent to many local nonprofits and charities, including Leadership Oklahoma City, Leadership Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Oklahoma City Arts Commission, the Oklahoma Media Network and the Downtown Oklahoma City Rotary Club (Club 29). As a devoted Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, Bob participated in many missions overseas, delivering essential medical equipment to underserved communities. In 2010, Bob was recognized as Rotarian of the Year. Despite having spent the entire second grade in "the hall," for chewing gum, talking in class or making a nuisance of himself, Bob was elected and served a four-year term on the Board of Education for Oklahoma City Public Schools, representing District 1. A lifetime member of the Oklahoma Zoological Society, Bob was honored to serve as the society's president. He also was an active member of the Oklahoma City Zoological Trust, serving as its Chairman. His favorite relationship with the Zoo was the one he shared with his three children nearly every sunny weekend of their childhoods. An ardent lover of sports, Bob founded a men's flag football team, the Blackhawks, and in a career that spanned three decades, missed only one game. The master of the "vicinity pass," Bob still managed to throw more than 1,000 touchdown passes, leading the Blackhawks to many city and state championships with a remarkable 90[%] winning percentage. His enthusiasm for football, combined with his love of traditions, translated into nearly 60 appearances at the annual Turkey Bowl, a Thanksgiving Day ritual among childhood friends who meet, rain or shine, at Taft Stadium. Bob also loved basketball, playing in "Hoop It Up" 3-on-3 games from Paris, France to Houston, Texas with fellow "Ball Hawgs," David Gibbs, Larry Gatewood, Charlie Brooks and Mike Collier. In "Senior Olympic" contests, Bob played on the National Championship team in 1999 and in 2003. He spent many evenings playing basketball with long-time chums, Mark Sneed and John Bond. He loved playing golf with friend Patrick Alexander, lunching with his good friends Mark Kanter and Jeff Simpsen, and working on the "next big project." Bob found time to become a published playwright with his semi-autobiographical play, There Are No Strangers At The Bijou. In 2016, he wrote and self-published an autobiography titled When Magpies Ruled the World and, in 2019, published a second book about growing up in Oklahoma City, Two Years in the Doghouse. Bob cherished his family above all else. Lauren, his wife of 32 years, made his life fun, interesting and infinitely richer. Together, they traveled the world with their three wonderful children, Reynolds, Templin and Jennings. His children describe Bob as their best friend and an exemplary father, unmatched in his generosity of love, praise and especially time. After separating from Lauren, the couple remained close friends and continued to share many happy times together. Bob later reconnected with former high school sweetheart Sally Wilson Lamprich, with whom he enjoyed traveling and bragging about kids. Laughter was an important part of Bob's life. He lived for a good practical joke. If you knew Bob, there's a 100[%] chance that you received a prank phone call from him. The saddest day of his life was the day Caller ID was invented. Bob is preceded in death by his loving parents, Gene and Frances. He is survived by his daughter, Reynolds Hammack Wallis and her husband, Scottie Wallis, of Tulsa; by his two sons, Templin Hammack and Jennings Hammack, and their mother, Lauren Allen Hammack Roth, of Oklahoma City. Additional survivors include two brothers, James Hammack and wife Beth, and Keith Hammack and wife Chris, of Oklahoma City; a sister, Lee Ann Hammack Fairlie and her husband, Greg, of Oklahoma City. He is further survived by several nieces, nephews, and extended family. In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to make a donation to the Oklahoma Zoological Society's "ZooFund for Kids," which provides educational opportunities for children who would not otherwise be able to afford them. People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. — Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Bob's family will host a gathering of friends to celebrate the light that Bob brought to our lives, and to share favorite "Bob" stories on Friday, November 15 at 1 pm at the Lotus Pavilion in the OKC Zoo's "Sanctuary Asia" exhibit. In honor of Bob, attire for the event should be shockingly casual for the occasion. (Think "knit shirt at a wedding" casual.)