Jessie Bischoff Obituary

Jessie Anne Hammond was born July 13, 1920 in Wausau, Wisconsin to Richard Tasso Hammond and his wife Irma Eliza Fobes Hammond. She was raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Jessie died on Mothers Day, May 13, 2012 surrounded by family in her home in Chandler, Arizona. Jessie was an inspiration to all she met. After graduating from Eau Claire Teachers College she worked as an elementary school teacher until marrying. She married U.S. Army officer Lawrence "Phil" Bischoff, Jr in 1944. In 1946 she was on the first ship of dependents to go overseas after WWII. They had a daughter, Mary Ethel, who was born in Austria and lived only one day. The couple continued to fully experience the military life moving from state to state. Jessie was mostly a homemaker doing the duties of both mother and father with grace and optimism during the times her husband was stationed at far off locations. She raised three adoring children. Mary Ethel, "Lance" (LPB,III) and Todd Richard. She was an active volunteer in the PTA, Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls and after her bilateral mastectomies with the American Cancer Society, to name only a few. In 1988 the Colorado ACS awarded her the Courage Award for establishing the CanSurmount Program as well as developing the Stearman House which until 2011 provided low cost facilities to cancer patients and their families. She was sent as Colorado's top volunteer to receive her honor in the White House Rose Garden from President Ronald Reagan. She is survived by her children; her daughter, Mary Bischoff Knape and her husband Weldon L. Knape, her sons, Lawrence "Lance" Philip Bischoff, III and his wife Michele Childs, Todd Richard Bischoff and his wife Sheri. She also leaves behind grandchildren; Weldon "Trey" and Kristen Marie Knape, Shaelin Michael and Tyler Corey Bischoff. In addition, Her great grandchildren, Shelby and Dru Knape and Hayzen Bischoff, will miss their "Granny-Mum." Jessie's niece, Jeanie, and her husband, Tom Lahn, were like her own children. Her older brother, Benjamin, survives her. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her first daughter, her beloved ex-husband, Phil, and her brother, Richard. In lieu of flowers, she asked that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill or Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, June 3 from 2 - 5 p.m. at Garden of the Gods Club in Colorado Springs. At her request, please wear cheerful attire.