LeRoy E. W. Hammond, 80, of Belvidere, died at 7:46 A.M. Thursday, August 14, 2008, in the emergency room of OSF St. Anthony Medical Center following a sudden illness. LeRoy was born in Belvidere on October 20, 1927, the son of Glyndon D. and Emma C. Humbracht Hammond. On November 1, 1948, he married Margaret Louise Stroup in Belvidere; she died July 24, 1999. LeRoy owned and operated a Texaco service station in Belvidere before working as an aircraft machinist with Rohr Aircraft Corp. and Hunter-Douglas Aircraft in California for many years; he retired from Falls Products in Genoa. LeRoy was an Army veteran of WW II. Survivors include four children: Leasa Gowett of Plant City, FL, Joann Bird of Salisbury, NC, Lance L. Hammond of Rockford, and Anna M. Schiro of Rockton, IL; brothers and sisters include Glyndon Hammond, Ethel Lee, Patsy Feltz, and Gordon Hammond, all of Belvidere, and Harold Hammond of MO; 13 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Margaret, daughter Cindy (1995) and brothers Bill and Ronnie Hammond.