Rosetta (Gay) Hammond

Rosetta Hammond, 88, of Louisville, died October 21, 2026. She was born Rose Etta Gay on May 13, 1938, in Perry County, Kentucky, to Roy and America (Smith) Gay. She disliked the name Rose, so as a child she combined her first two names to become Rosetta. Her family moved to Austin, Indiana in 1944.

Rosetta married Jimmie Hammond on March 30, 1957. During his Air Force service, they lived in Kansas, Alabama and Indiana before settling in Louisville in the early 1960s. She owned and operated a beauty shop in the 1960s, spent the better part of two decades as a stay-at-home mom, and then began a career in real estate at age 51 after a divorce. Within three years of earning her license, she ranked among Coldwell Banker’s top 10 agents in Kentucky. She later earned her broker’s license and continued selling real estate until retiring in 2003.

She shared 16 years with her life partner, Larry Needy, until his death in 2009.

Rosetta and her sister Nora shared a history that began with a childhood nickname. As a little girl, Rosetta couldn’t pronounce Nora’s name but could say Gay, so that was what she called her sister. The name stuck. The sisters later married brothers, Jimmie and Roy Lee Hammond. Military assignments kept the families apart for years, but they eventually moved next door to each other.

Music and dancing were part of Rosetta’s life. She began square dancing and clogging in the 1980s and taught country-western line dancing at Horsefeathers.

After retiring, Rosetta joined the Louisville Harmonics senior harmonica group, performing at the Kentucky State Fair, nursing homes, and other venues. She took up banjo and dobro at age 61 and played with local musicians at bluegrass gatherings in Leatherwood, Kentucky and at the Shepherdsville Music Barn.

In her later years, Rosetta wrote songs. Some were about her life and family, others were composed for friends’ birthdays, and still others grew out of events in her community.

She also spent time quilting and sewing, making quilts for family members, along with clothing and wall hangings. And she never met a card game she didn’t like, with canasta, rummy and bridge her favorites.

Above all, Rosetta loved her children and grandchildren. She raised her children with constant assurances that they were smart, capable, and could accomplish anything they set their minds to. She encouraged her grandchildren to explore their interests, particularly music and dancing.

When her first grandchild, Fiona, was born in 1997, Rosetta bravely boarded an airplane for the first time, traveling alone to see and hold her granddaughter in the hospital.

She shared her interest in music with her grandson Nathaniel (Nate) and her granddaughter Jocelyn, whom she called Cissy, teaching them to sing and dance. She also took Nate to drum lessons and even bought him a drum set and an electric guitar.

Rosetta is survived by her son, James Hammond (Sheri); daughter, Teena Maddox (Troy); grandchildren, Fiona, Sierra, Brennan, Jocelyn, and Nathaniel; siblings, Nannie Jean Mull, Henry Gay, Lee Gay, Judy England, Lillie Stidham, and Eva Eldridge; and many nieces and nephews, including Cindi Blair (John).

She was preceded in death by her life partner, Larry Needy; former husband, Jimmie Hammond; and siblings Nora Hammond Winters, Wilma Jane White, Johnnie Gay, Mary Berna, Penny Ivey, Gladys Roberts, Arnold Gay, and Martha Lou Tyree.

Visitation will be on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Newcomer Cremations, Funerals & Receptions, East Louisville Chapel, 235 Juneau Drive and Thursday, October 29, from 9 to 11 a.m. Funeral services will follow at 11 a.m.