Simone Delage Hammer

Simone Delage Hammer was born in Neuvic, Corrèze, France on the 10th of October, 1931, to René and Hélène Delage. Her father was one of twelve siblings, and Simone spent her childhood surrounded by family.  At eight years old when France was occupied by Germany, Simone was sent to boarding school, remaining there until she was twelve. At 18, she moved to Paris to study occupational therapy at the French School of Orthopedics, choosing to specialize in Cerebral Palsy.   After her graduation, she joined “Moral Re-Armament a revivalist group founded by Frank Buchman that was open to all religions. With them, she traveled to Great Britain, the USA, Switzerland, and France to promote peace, honesty, and mutual respect.

After leaving MRA, Simone settled in Lausanne, Switzerland to work as an occupational therapist. She initially sub-let the apartment of an American medical student who had returned home to New York for the summer.   The student was Carl Hammer, and one of his favorite reminiscences throughout his life was that “Simone knocked on my door.”  The two began dating but Simone was sent to Rome to open a new clinic. After several months of frequent correspondence, it became apparent to Carl that enough was enough. He caught a train to Rome and proposed.

Carl and Simone were married on June 24th, 1961 in Simone’s idyllic hometown of Neuvic. The officiant at the marriage was the former Prime Minister of France, Henri Queuille, whom Simone had met when she was a young girl and asked him to come back one day to marry her!

The couple returned to Lausanne for Carl to continue his studies, and David was born nine months later.  When Carl graduated from the medical school of the University of Lausanne, he, Simone, and David returned to New York on the QE2. Carl began his internship at Stamford Hospital, and in 1964 Joanne was born. Later that year, the family moved to Philadelphia, where Carl started his residency.  Robert was born in 1965 and the family moved first to Bryn Mawr, PA and then to Berwyn, PA where they remained for 33 years.

Simone was a wonderful mother. She was deeply involved with her children’s lives and encouraged them to follow their passions. She insisted on gathering her family around the dining room table for dinner every night, and while she was an American citizen, she remained proudly French, always producing delicious French meals such as Boeuf Bourguignon and Cheese Fondue.

Simone enjoyed both quiet pursuits and active ones. She was a very talented artist—she enjoyed painting in watercolor and oil, and sculpture. She was also a voracious reader, particularly of Agatha Christie mysteries, but also of French literature and current events.

Her mantra was “therapy by movement” stemming from her training as an occupational therapist and she lived her life that way each day. As a younger woman, she was an active tennis player, and nothing could stop Simone from getting in her walks, or her daily swim, both of which she continued into her nineties.

In 1976, when she felt the children no longer needed her undivided attention, Simone retrained as a realtor. She specialized in New Construction, and her energy and dedication to her clients soon made her one of the top sellers on the Main Line.

When they retired in 2005, Carl and Simone finally fulfilled a life-long dream and moved to Sun City-Bluffton, in the Lowcountry.  Simone joined the International Club, the French Club, and the local book club where she met some wonderful new friends, and Carl and Simone often took day trips to the Hilton Head. She loved the landscape, the sunsets, walking on the beach, and spending time with her family.  In 2015, Simone was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but she continued to remain very much herself. She enjoyed many social activities, and never ever lost her love of walking. She and Carl celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2021 and they were ultimately married for 62 years.  She was a remarkable mother, a loving and dedicated wife, and a beloved grandmother. She will be eternally missed by her family

The memorial service will take place on February 21st at 2 pm at St Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Bluffton, SC. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to “Memory Matters of Hilton Head” as the organization supported our family throughout Simone’s journey with Alzheimer’s.

Simone is survived by her three children, David, Joanne and Robert, her daughters-in-law Renée and Samantha, her grandsons, Luke and Jonathan, and her brother, Jean-Paul and his wife Elisabeth, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Memory Matters
P. O. Box 22330, Hilton Head Island SC 29925
Web: https://www.mymemorymatters.org/donate