Anne Hammond Sander

Anne St. Elmo Hammond Sander went peacefully to her Lord in Heaven in the early hours of Saturday, March 29, 2025, in the home she shared with her daughter, Kathleen Sander. She was 89.

Her last week epitomized what Anne loved – family. Anne celebrated the third birthday of great granddaughter, Emma. The house was a buzz with a week of band camp events. She joined in as granddaughter, Samantha, helped great-granddaughter, Haley, prepare for a military ball held Friday night. Later Friday evening, Anne and daughter, Kathleen, shared coffee and watched their favorite episode of Wyatt Earp, said "Goodnight" and exchanged words of love. The last words Anne spoke and heard that night was "I love you!” shared with great-granddaughter BayleeAnne. Her heart was full of love, and she was surrounded by love. Anne shared many similar experiences throughout the years with all her family. What she loved most was the Lord and her family.

Anne was born to Margaret Floyd and Elmo Dalton Hammond on December 11, 1935. One of five children, she enjoyed a loving and creative family. Married on August 3, 1955, she was beloved by her late husband, George William Sander, and they lived a rich and full life raising their children together. Anne and George, an Air Force husband, lived in Mississippi, California, Newfoundland, Florida and Guam. Upon his retirement, they moved back to their hometown of Charleston, S.C.

They had five children. Cecile Marie and James Michael preceded them to Heaven. Charles Anthony, Margaret Anne, and Kathleen Marie have been so richly blessed to call George and Anne their own much-loved and cherished parents.

Anne's family was the center of her life. She was a strong Christian and modeled and led her children to faith and encouraged them to seek Jesus daily.

Anne made life fun and taught her children to be flexible and find solutions. Her influence was always tender and gentle, flavored with humor, great food, quick wit and a wooden spoon, used to cook and spank, or at least as the threat of a spanking!

Anne was a great cook and made the best scrambled eggs, pancakes, sweet tea and coffee milk. To this day, Charlie’s plate portions (aka mounds) are legend! Her desserts were the best and over the years all the cooks in the family have done their best to copy them, with various degrees of success! Anne taught three generations of Sander women to bake Challah bread. She could sew beautifully. Kathleen and Margie were both blessed with their very own handmade Raggedy Ann and Andy. Anne instilled a love of gardening in her children, and their yards bear witness to that with the shrubs and flowers she planted and cared for.

Sometime after George passed, Anne and her best friend and cousin, Ruth (Kitty) Gold Watkins, decided to have an adventure in Shelby, N.C. They built homes and lived there for some years - this, at an age when many would be settled down for good. Upon her return to Charleston in late 2013, her three remaining children and their families were each blessed as Mom stayed with them and became an active part of their lives.

Anne loved her five children, 10 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. She laughed when they laughed and cried when they cried. Anne valued the time she had with every member of her family.

She lived first with her son, Charlie Sander and his wife, Julie, in Mt. Pleasant. Their two children are Christie, their oldest, her husband Steve Yantis, and Christie’s two daughters, Riley and Charlotte Davies and Merit, their youngest, and her son, Jamison George Sander. Anne was Mama in Charlie’s family.

Anne then lived with daughter Margie and her husband, John Scudder, in Tennessee. Their five children are Lindsay, Kathleen, Andrew, his wife, Cory, and daughter, Raegan, Collin, Brittany and their children: Ireland, Easton and Otto; and Frances, her husband, Andy Seay and their daughters Joanna and Ruth, and their son due this Summer. Anne was Grandma, G-Ma and finally G! to the Scudders.

She returned to Charleston to live with daughter, Kathleen Sander, in the spring of 2019. Kathleen’s three children are Heath Beam - his wife, Fotini, Zachary D'Amaral and Jordan, daughters Haley, Everly and Emma, Samantha D’Amaral and daughter BayleeAnne Griffiths. She was known as Big Mommaw and by some, Big Mommawl in Kathleen’s family.

Anne is survived by her brother, Stephen Hammond, his wife, Renae, and their family; her sister, Trina Hammond McCleod, her husband, Ian, and their family; and her brother-in-law Bob Rogers and his family. Sister Margaret (Peggie) Rogers, and brother John Hammond went Home to Heaven before her.

Anne loved listening to Bob Rogers, Steve Hammond, Ian, and John McLeod perform blue grass and old hymns. Ingrid Sander was always in Anne’s prayers. Her cousin Kitty Watkins remained her dearest friend and her family, like their late father, Robert Watkins, remain larger than life!

Anne St. Elmo Hammond Sander was gentle, kind and gracious, she was artistic, had a huge smile, a quick wit, she loved history, and studying God’s Word. She relished her coffee and old movies and enjoyed these daily blessings with her family close throughout her life.

Anne was treasured and will be greatly missed. We wait for Heaven to see her again.