Dephane D. Hammond, age 109, of Long Beach, CA, and formerly of Huron, died March 23, 2005, at Bixby Knolls Towers at Long Beach. The burial of her cremated remains will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 24, at Maplewood Cemetery at Iroquois with Rev. Kris Larsen officiating. There will be no visitation. Local arrangements are under the direction of Welter Funeral Home. Dephane Hammond was born on December 25, 1895, to John and Kittie (Morris) Hammond, at Iroquois, SD. She attended schools at Iroquois until her last year of high school when she moved with her family to Huron, where she graduated from Huron High School. She then attended and graduated from Huron College with a degree in education. Her teaching career spanned 43 years: 3 years between Salem and Howard, 3 years at Hitchcock, and 37 years at Mitchell Junior High School. She wrote the instruction unit for eighth grade U.S. history study for the state of South Dakota. For seven years she was the Girls State counselor for the National Educational Association conventions and held every office in the Mitchell Teachers Association. She retired, in 1961, remained in Mitchell until 1963 when she left for Long Beach, California. She belonged to the National Education Association, South Dakota Education Association, and local teachers organizations. She was a life-long member of the United Methodist Church and held several positions in the church and the United Methodist Women. During her years at Mitchell she belonged to the Shakespeare-Art Study Group, Delta Kappa Gamma, and Chapter J of the PEO sisterhood. She retired from teaching in 1961 and moved to Long Beach, CA, where she has since resided. She is survived by 1 nephew, John M. (Debbie) Hammond of Alamo, CA; 1 niece-in-law, Fannie Rae Thornton of Bellingham, WA; 3 great nieces, Susan Hash, Linda Baker, and Kelli Jo Hammond; 4 great nephews, Steve Hammond, Brent Thornton, James Davis, and John B. Hammond. She was preceded in death by her parents; and 2 brothers, Jasper Hammond, and Morris Hammond; and 1 nephew, Eugene A. Thornton.