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In memory of

Albert James Lammens, Jr.

Covina, CA

February 12, 1940 - January 9, 2022

Feb 12, 1940 - Jan 9, 2022

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Albert James Lammens, Jr. died peacefully at home on January 9th in Covina, CA at age 81, just shy of his 82nd birthday – he packed a lot of living into his life. Born in Bronx, NY as a 6-month preemie and weighing in at just 1lb.,1oz., he was one of the smallest babies at that time with a very slim chance of survival. He beat the odds but needed many surgeries before he would start grade school. His grandmother would later tell him that his diapers were very tiny, the size of a cube of butter.

Baptized Catholic, he was a devout Christian and looked for opportunities to give back to the community by donating his time and resources to his parish. It didn't matter whether he was pouring coffee at church events, helping with maintenance, or dropping in on other members to say hello, his heart was the fullest in his volunteer work.

Growing up he lived on a rural farm in Ohio, picking strawberries, wild blackberries and home grown vegetables to can for the winter months. Times were tough so he learned to live off the land and hunt at a very young age to help with the family food supply.

In 1956 the family moved to Pasadena, CA. In high school he excelled in all the things he loved. He was in the marching band, playing the saxophone, and marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade. Other interests that inspired lifelong hobbies were bowling, playing in and winning trophies in many tournaments over the years, as well as learning communication over citizen band (CB) radio which was a newer invention at the time and well before it became a nationwide craze in the mid-1970’s.

A pivotal time during high school was when he was accepted into the Pasadena City College Electrician Apprenticeship Program, sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He was a fast learner, quickly progressing and getting hired as foreman at ESSCO during his apprenticeship. He loved being a part of an evolving industry. Learning to be scrappy from a young age, he did what it took to get the job done, but he had many innovative ideas to improve quality of work and be more efficient. These ideas would later lend themselves to his interest in inventing new products.

In 1970 he became an electrical contractor establishing Aldon Electric. He was very meticulous and methodical in his approach to estimating and bidding, which won the company many gainful projects – even working on the movie sets of Red Heat and Christine.

Al worked hard, but it was his outside interests that made him feel well-rounded, challenged and creative. He took flight training classes and successfully completed his private solo flying license. He had a great love for antique cars. He restored a 1926 Buick Brougham on and off for 10 years that he purchased from a junkyard for $750, and later, partially restored a dismantled vintage 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II Park Ward Limousine which is now on display at the Smithsonian Institute in London. His love of cars also led him to sponsor race car 57 at Irwindale Speedway when it was still a dirt track.

He eventually took up hunting again, joining Ducks Unlimited. His newest love was a black lab puppy with pedigree papers from Bing Crosby’s dog. He named him Black Powder, bought books on how to train hunting dogs, eventually teaching him whistle commands to retrieve his prey as they hunted together.

In the mid-70’s, Al took his family on countless trips to the Colorado River where he enjoyed camping, fishing, water skiing and floating down the river in giant intertwined rafts with family & friends. It was a new generation of “river rats” with a surge of young people from Southern California with fast boats packing the shoreline of The Parker Strip. This was also the time when Al’s love of drag boat racing was born. He purchased his first custom built v-bottom boat which he would give the moniker My Way. He modified the engine for drag boat racing, and installed a tail prop that could shoot a 150 foot rooster tail. Old river folklore has it that My Way’s rooster tail helped put out the fire that burned down the infamous Sundance Saloon.

The 80’s brought out the hipster side of Al. He permed his hair and got a green thumb. Once he had a passion for something, he was all in. He would read up on the best way to do things, then he would build it or do it. By the mid-90’s, he realized his dream of becoming an inventor creating new types of electrical conduit body fittings. He was a 3-time patent holder, winning multiple awards at several International Invention Conventions. Professionally he felt he left his mark by accomplishing everything he wanted to do in the patent office and was proud to be listed in the Hall of Records for eternity.

Al married his life partner, Betty Hammerson, in 1996 and they enjoyed a full life together, taking many cruises and traveling around the US. On a New York trip, they visited Ellis Island and found the historical passenger arrival manifests of his grandparents immigrating from Belgium on the Queen Mary Ocean Liner on March 27, 1921. This led to his genealogy hobby of building out his family tree using DNA research and discovering his Flemish ethnicity.

Retiring didn’t slow him down much! He was a long time member of the Knights of Columbus and Elks Lodge, volunteering and participating in many charitable events supporting the organizations. Al enjoyed traveling the pacific northwest in his motorhome with Betty by his side, and often with their RV Clubs. And, of course, he found many new hobbies. He joined Route 66 Gold Miners Club, part of the Gold Prospectors Association with his "best buddy" Terry, got “gold fever” and purchased prospecting equipment and metal detectors. There were many new adventures and lots of exploring!

While many of his accomplishments are remarkable and unique to the way he lived his life, they don’t completely capture the essence of who he was: a good-natured person and generally the mastermind behind a good prank. He was curious, disciplined, and with many things, self-taught. He loved to tell stories and to laugh. His musical talents were many; in addition to playing the sax, he also played the harmonica and had a wonderful singing voice. He loved to host family & friends. He was a mentor to many and always willing to lend a helping hand. He could fix anything. His wisdom was his own. He loved deeply. And he was a good husband, father and friend. He will be missed terribly.

Al is preceded in death by his older sister, Frances Grew and step-daughter Cathy Presley.

Al is survived by his beloved wife Betty, of more than 25 years, daughter Lisa Lammens, daughter Susan (David) Lytle, daughter Tiffany (Mark) Berry, and 5 grandchildren, step-daughter Linda (Frank) Pineda, step-son Mike Hammerson, 6 step-grandchildren, and 6 step-great grandchildren along with other family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Hospice and Lewy Body Dementia Care. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

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