Nonagenarian Prayer Warrior Still at Her Post
No one can accuse Jean Hammock of shirking her duty as a Christ-follower, despite her mature age of 93. Jean is still very active as a soldier of the Charleston Citadel Corps in South Carolina, busying herself with extended periods of prayer, telephoning Sunday worship service absentees, and staying involved in Community Care Ministries.
Using the corps roster as her unofficial checklist, Jean calls shut-ins of the corps family, along with anyone in need that the Lord brings to her mind. This is her primary method of prayer ministry, between 20 and 30 families receiving prayer on the other end of her telephone line every week.
Every Thursday she attends Women’s Ministry, often taking part in planning and leadership for the group. Her other passion is for Community Care, this along with Women’s Ministry both remaining constants in her life, harkening way back to her early days as a Salvationist at the old Richmond Corps in the Western Territory. The Richmond Corps more recently became the El Cerrito Corps before it was closed not long ago.
“We moved from Arkansas to Richmond (California) in 1942 because my dad got a job in a shipyard out there,” Jean explains. During World War II, that was one of the places where jobs could be found, and because of her dad’s health, this was an open door provided by the Lord.
“My brother had a friend who invited him to the Richmond Corps,” she continues. “We all became very involved, and I became a soldier on Easter Sunday when I was 18.”
The years following the war were particularly hard on the family, with a string of deaths among her loved ones. Her dad’s poor health caught up with him, and within a few years, she also lost an uncle and a brother, one to cancer and the other by a hit-and-run driver. Still another family member was killed during a military maneuver in the late 1940s.
But instead of bitterness, Jean found great solace and even spiritual growth in Christ.
“When Dad died, I sort of stepped in to fill his role in the family,” especially with her mother. She even stayed home to babysit the youngest sibling while the family attended her father’s funeral. “My reliance on Jesus was all I had, but it was more than enough!”
Brigadiers Olin and Ruth Edwards were her corps officers during that time and figured prominently in the family’s welfare, as well as becoming spiritual mentors to Jean. Their son remains a close friend to Jean after all these years.
In 2011, Jean moved to the Charleston, South Carolina area to be cared for by her daughter, Debbie Anderson.
“There are so many churches around here, but I just had to find the nearest Salvation Army corps, because I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Salvationist,” Jean says, adding that once you are a soldier, it is hard to get that out of your DNA.
Today, the nonagenarian (a person in their 90s) is an integral part of Charleston Citadel, easily becoming something of a corps matriarch. The next oldest corps member is a distant 80 years old.
Jean and Debbie open their home each December for what has become an annual Home League Christmas Party for up to 25 people. Their home is beautifully decorated, corps members look forward to the event on the corps calendar, and Jean expects no remuneration for expenses.
“Jean loves to help others, but extremely shuns the spotlight. She never wants to be the center of attention,” says her corps officer, Captain Cathy Michels.
From her first encounter with Jean at the corps, Captain Cathy was especially impressed at how she, well into her 90s, ministers to younger comrades—some of them even in their teens— who look up to her. “She is making such a difference in their lives, and that means a lot to me.”
Jean’s daughter, Debbie, says that her mom is an incredibly determined person—actually the word Debbie uses to describe her is “stubborn.” But Captain Cathy believes that to be a huge positive. “Jean minces no words with me when she sees something I should know, and I really appreciate that!”
Commenting on her advanced age, Jean wonders, “Why am I still here?”
This presents no mystery to her other corps officer, Captain Mike Michels. “Jean has been a Salvationist for over 70 years,” he says, “and it would be so easy for her to sit back and let younger generations pray, witness, and work behind the scenes. But that’s not how she’s wired at all.”