Leigh E. Hammer

Leigh Hammer, 70, of Crookston, MN passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Sunday April 20th at Essentia Health in Fargo after battling lung cancer. Leigh was born September 22nd, 1954, in Roseau MN to Beatrice (Harms) & Lloyd Hammer and grew up on the family farm outside of Roseau in Stafford Township.

He attended high school in Roseau, graduating in 1972 and joined the military shortly thereafter. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, he was stationed at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks Alaska. He served as a supply clerk and as an MP ending his service in 1975 to resume civilian life. After leaving the Army he found his way to Crookston, MN working at the local Cenex station. It was there that he connected with Denise Foster, when she asked him to start her car on a cold January day in 1980. They were married August 29th, 1981, in Warroad, MN and had 2 sons Dominick and Casey whom they raised in Crookston and loved parenting. Leigh and Denise were married for nearly 44 years prior to his passing.

Growing up in the hockey rich community of Roseau, Leigh played hockey as a boy and continued to love the sport, closely following the Fighting Sioux and MN Wild. He also loved farming, working on a farm outside of Crookston with both cattle and cash crops. It was this love of farming that also led to his proficiency with gardening. He had an ability to grow some of the healthiest plants in town that often made their way into delicious soups and stews.

He fully embraced his Scandinavian heritage and would make sure there was lutefisk at every holiday meal. Most people who met him were introduced to his incredible sense of humor and comedic timing, bolstered by some of his favorite Ole & Lena jokes and the comic strip The Far Side by Gary Larson. These jokes and his ability to disarm people with his observational humor made family gatherings memorable and full of laughter.

He loved to hunt and often participated in both the rifle and muzzle loader deer seasons. He shot 2 bucks this past season, much to the chagrin of his brother-in-law Les, who didn't hear the end of it.

For the last 33 years Leigh worked as a machinist at Dee Manufacturing and worked a majority of those years as the night shift coordinator. He loved his work and spending time with his co-workers and grandson Alex who also worked there.

Leigh will be deeply missed by his wife Denise Hammer of Crookston; sons Dominick (Jen) Hammer of Fargo & Casey (Maria) Hammer of Crookston; his 6 grandchildren Alex, Sophia, Sydney, Tryg, Aksel, & Isla; siblings Keith (Bonita) Hammer of Boise, Idaho, Kathy Solberg of Andover, MN, Allen (Sherry) Hammer of Warroad, MN, & Kenny (Deb) Hammer of Meridian, Idaho; many sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Beatrice and Lloyd; his brother Doyle, his brother Stephen, and his special sister-in-law, Deanne "Nanny" Johnson.

Celebration of Life will be at 2:00 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2025 at Stenshoel Houske Funeral Home in Crookston. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2025 at Stenshoel Houske Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Friday. A prayer service will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Services will be livestreamed at www.stenshoelhouske.com