Fifty years to the day after the dedication of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore, another building underwritten through the generosity of the Hammes family will be dedicated on campus.
Hammes Mowbray Hall, the new home of Notre Dame Security/Police and the Notre Dame Post Office, will be dedicated at9 a.m.Sept. 23 (Friday). Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., the Universitys president emeritus, will offer a blessing, just as he did as president at the dedication five decades ago of the bookstore that was located on the South Quad from 1955 to 1999.
The 40,000-square-foot Hammes Mowbray Hall, which opened in January, was underwritten with a gift from Jerry and Dorene Hammes ofSouth Bend,Ind.; their nephew, Jerry Hammes Mowbray ofReno,Nev.; and their son, Jeffrey Hammes ofKankakee,Ill.
Jerry Hammesparents, Romy and Dorothy Hammes ofKankakee, underwrote the construction of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore in 1955. When the bookstore was moved to new quarters in theEckCenterin 1999 it retained the Hammes name.
Among Jerry and Dorene Hammesprevious donations to Notre Dame are a $1 million gift to establish an endowment for Campus Ministry, a $100,000 gift for a scholarship, and a $100,000 gift to endow a library collection on critical technologies in engineering. A room in theColemanFamilyCenterfor Campus Ministry – which stands on the site of the original Hammes Bookstore – is named for Jerry and Dorene in honor of their gift to Campus Ministry. Jerry has been a member of the advisory council for University Libraries since 1976.
The Hammes family also has been a significant benefactor of theIndianaProvinceof the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dames founding religious community, through itsSign of HopeandLiving Faithfund-raising campaigns. The family was a major benefactor in the renovation of theSacredHeartParishCenterat Notre Dame. Jerry received the Rev. Howard J. Kenna, C.S.C., Award in 1999 for service to the congregation and University.
Jerry Hammes is president of Romy Hammes Inc. ofSouth Bendand chairman of Peoples Bank ofKankakeeCounty. He is a member of the class of 1953.
Jeffrey Hammes, a 1992 graduate of Notre Dame, is president and chief executive officer of Peoples Bank.
Jerry Hammes Mowbray, who was graduated from Notre Dame in 1975 and earned his law degree from the University three years later, is an attorney inReno. Through a previous gift he established a fellowship at theLawSchoolin the names of his parents, the late Justice John C. Mowbray and Kathlyn Hammes Mowbray ofLas Vegas. Justice Mowbray was a 1949 Notre Dame graduate and Kathlyn Mowbray is the daughter of Romy and Dorothy Hammes.
The post office occupies half of the first floor of Hammes Mowbray Hall. The remainder of the building houses offices and training space for security/police.
The Moake-Park Group ofFort Wayne,Ind., designed the building and Ziolkowski Construction of South Bend was construction manager.
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