Leslie Hammond

Leslie Allison Hammond arrived very quickly in the early morning hours of May 31,1978, in San Diego, California. She never slowed down. Moving to Bovill, Idaho (population 289), in 1979, she grew up in a village of loggers, truck drivers and a close-knit community where everyone knew her name. She spent a brief period of time living in West Carrollton, Ohio, while her father completed medical training, before returning to Bovill for elementary school. In 1989, the family moved to St. Maries, Idaho, where Leslie graduated from high school. Those years were filled with softball, basketball, bowling, fishing, camping, hiking, and huckleberry picking in the Idaho woods. Her college career began at what was then Albertson College of Idaho, where she majored in Theater, graduating in 2001 and being selected as the commencement speaker. A welding class she took in high school led to a summer job at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and began her journey in theater technology. In 2002, she and Sonia Ruyts moved to Jersey City, New Jersey.Sonia attended the French Culinary Institute for Pastry Arts while Leslie worked at various local jobs, including in a coffee shop and in real estate. In November, she and Sonia invited friends and family to their wedding, which was preceded by a NYC scavenger hunt in which teams traveled the streets and subways of the city looking for clues and reenacting famous scenes from movie locations. In 2003, they moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where Leslie attended Indiana University and obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Technology. That led to an appointment at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, where she was in charge of theater productions, set building, lighting, and props. After a couple years, she joined the faculty at Yale University, but the call of the Pacific Northwest was too great, and she accepted an invitation to manage the theater at Linn-Benton Community College in 2010. Leslie was thrilled to become a mom, first to Ben in 2010 and then to Calvin in 2015, and spending time with them was a high priority in her life. There were family trips to Hawaii, Puerto Rica, Costa Rica and, of course, Disneyland. But just as fun were weekly family movie and pizza nights at home. The desire for a schedule that was more aligned with a healthy family life was a motivating factor in her transition to administrative positions at Linn-Benton. She moved through several leadership roles, eventually becoming the Dean of Academic Foundations, where she worked with students and her team of counselors to help students succeed in reaching their goals. Her Oregon years included many outdoor adventures with her sister Laura, including successfully hiking South Sister and scaling Mount St. Helens, among numerous other trips. She was a student of film, a trivia night whiz, and loved going to movies with her kids and friends. In October 2025, she hiked 88 miles through the Alps in Switzerland. Leslie had a natural talent for design and building, and her training ensured everything she built, from coat racks to patios, was strong enough to hold a baby grand piano. She was always ready to lend a hand, share her skills, and show up with way too much food. Her creativity and humor were consistently on display, both as an improvisational actor and as an administrator who provided collaboration and encouragement to her team and to the students at LBCC. Leslie loved her work and was deeply grateful for the support, kindness, and community that surrounded her throughout her life. Service details are pending. Memorials honoring her life can be made to the Leslie Allison Hammond Scholarship Fund through the Linn Benton Community College Foundation. Calapooia Center, Room 107, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany OR 97321. Or foudation@linnbenton.edu. Or.. Please consider making a donation in Leslie’s name to one of the following: Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Or her Alma mater, college of Idaho.

Tributes

Leslie Hammond

May 31, 1978 - May 23, 2026