From the Sea to the Mountains: A DU Hero
By Gabriel Rosen
Elmer Lee hamby
1/26/1926 – 1/2/2007
Born in Georgetown, Indiana, on January 26, 1926, Elmer Lee Hamby, son of Agnes and Elmer Hamby, spent the majority of his childhood on his family's sugar beet, alfalfa, and cantaloupe farm in Rocky Ford, CO, accompanied by his younger sister Mary and his older sister Ione.[1] In 1944, he graduated from Manzanola High School and would quickly enlist in the Navy and serve in the Pacific theatre during WW2, as an EM3, also known as an Electrician's Mate 3rd Class. Onboard a ship, an EM3 was responsible for servicing and maintaining many different electrical systems throughout the vessel. On the heels of his service, he was recommended to enroll in officers’ training school in Idaho. Instead, however, he chose to try and adjust to civilian life. Shortly after the war, he would bounce around jobs, working as a trucker in Utah, then moving to the Climax Mine in Leadville, Colorado, and eventually at the Gates Rubber Company in Denver. Finding himself in Denver, he would eventually enroll in the University of Denver through the G.I. Bill. The G.I. Bill, also known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, was a bill aimed at providing federal aid to World War 2 veterans trying to readjust to civilian life. The bill provided this aid in the form of low-interest loan opportunities, low-cost mortgages, and educational tuition aid, which Elmer would utilize. While attending the University of Denver, Elmer would marry his wife, Shirlee, at the Evanston Community Church on September 5th, 1952. Elmer would go on to earn a Bachelor’s of Political Science degree, and later a Law Degree in 1955. His father would pass away on March 29, 1956, and would be buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery with Military honors. Elmer would use his Law Degree to pursue a career in justice, working as a defense attorney until 1978, when he was appointed as magistrate of the Denver Juvenile Court. He would retire in 1997. Throughout his career, he handled many different cases, including in 1971, when he represented a man who refused to be drafted into the United States Military, saying he was a conscientious objector, and won the case. Sadly, in 1982, Elmer's wife, Shirlee, would pass away. He lived out the rest of his life in Denver, CO, befriending his loving companion, Kathe Kelley, until his death on January 2, 2007.
Footnotes ↓
[1] Information for this biography can be found at:
https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=CDY19670109-01.2.5. https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD19710902-01.2.138. https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/G72W-WXS. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/elmer-hamby-obituary?id=33250785#guestbook. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/servicemens-readjustment-act#:~:text=Signed%20into%20law%20by%20President,WWII%20and%20later%20military%20conflicts. https://www.simplecontacts.com/profile/Elmer-Hamby-fbf4a1. https://www.denverpost.com/obituaries/elmer-lee-hamby-co. https://www.ussmarblehead.com/pdf/WWII__PettyOfficerRatings2.pdf.
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