In his 60 years in Franklin Park, Rodger Hammill saw and documented a lot of changes in the village. A professional photographer, he took countless pictures of the buildings, the special events and, most of all, the people of Franklin Park.
Mr. Hammill, 86, died Tuesday, March 5, of a heart attack in the combination home and studio that he built 52 years ago.
“He always said he would never move out of Franklin Park,” said Dorothy, his wife of 61 years, who gave him his first camera as a gift for his 18th birthday.
That gift eventually set him on the path to his career. For many years, he ran the family business, Chicago Washed Cotton Goods Co., and sold equipment for Bright Electric Co. He also found time to take pictures for the Franklin Park Police Department and Fire Department and for newspapers in the area.
His daughter, Judith Hammill Casey, recalled the police scanner that often went off in the middle of the night and the red light her father put atop his car so he could drive to police calls faster. But his work for Franklin Park and a dozen other towns was more than just pictures for coroners or insurance agents, she said.
“It ended up being a historical record. He has recorded so much that has happened,” she said.
In 1947, Mr. Hammill opened his first photo studio. He also helped found the Franklin Park Manufacturers Association, now the Northwest Suburban Manufacturers Association.
Mr. Hammill believed in civic service, his family said. He helped form the local chamber of commerce, was appointed police and fire commissioner, and was a village trustee from 1947 to 1951.
He started the communications center for the Suburban Fire Department Mutual Aid Committee, enabling area towns to support one another during emergencies. He helped form the Leyden Community Hospital Foundation, which led to the creation of an extended-care facility in the area.
In 1957, Mr. Hammill was elected town constable of Leyden Township. From 1959 to 1967, he was Franklin Park’s civil-defense director. He joined the Kiwanis Club in 1945 and had a 53-year perfect attendance record. He also was active in First United Methodist Church of Franklin Park, his family said.
“I don’t think there was anything the town did that was worthwhile that [he] didn’t put his talent and time into,” said Bob Marshall, a longtime friend and fellow Kiwanian.
Through it all, Mr. Hammill continued to take pictures of his village, including special events, school photos, commercial photographs, and personal and family portraits. When residents brought old photos to him for reproduction, Mr. Hammill always made copies for himself. He provided images for Franklin Park’s 70th, 75th and 100th anniversary celebrations.
“We’ve got a real strong photographic history of the community,” said Village President Daniel Pritchett, a history buff who enjoyed going over pictures with Mr. Hammill. Before he died, Mr. Hammill donated all his photos and negatives to the village library.
Last year the village designated a section of Belmont Avenue as Honorary Rodger Hammill Way and renamed the Belmont Avenue Gazebo the Rodger W. Hammill Village Square.
Other survivors include a son, Thomas; a brother, Edward; and two grandchildren. Services have been held.
