Funeral services for long-time Sara­toga resident, Jerry Hamel, Sr., will be held on Friday, June 19, 2026, in the Valley Chapel at the Saratoga Cemetery at 10 a.m. A reception will follow on the patio at the Saratoga Community Center.

Jerry was born in Basin, Wyoming on Sept. 5, 1940, to Leo Hamel and Ruby (Rifle) Hamel, joining older siblings Donna and Theodore at the family home. They later moved to Casper where Jerry graduated from Natrona County High School in June of 1959. After graduating, Jerry immediately went into the U.S. Army with a friend on the “buddy system.” Jerry spent his four-year deployment in Germany. When his tour of duty was completed, he returned to Casper and briefly tried working in the auto-body repair field before decid­ing that was not his calling. Instead, he joined the Iron Workers Local #454 in Casper, eventually becoming a certified master welder.

Jerry worked on numerous projects around Wyoming and neighboring states, including work on the Jim Bridger and Dave Johnson power plants, helping to build the missile silos in Wyoming, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, the Wyoming Penitentiary and many other bridges and buildings. He became a millwright at Lou­isiana Pacific Lumber Mill in Saratoga in 1987, the job he held until his retirement in 2004.

He met the love of his life, Judy Pat­terson, in September of 1970 and they married in late December of that year. They shared 55 years of love, laughter and adventures.

Jerry was a mechanical genius and could build anything he set his mind to, thinking about it and working out the details in his mind until the time came to build it, when it came togeth­er beautifully and easily. His children remember the multi-tiered train track table he built on which to run his collection of model trains and that all the features were also hand crafted by him. Many remember the legendary ice fishing huts he built, huts that were large enough to hold a pot-bellied stove, lounge chairs and pictures of his beloved family, in addition to the requisite fishing gear. His co-work­ers mourned the day a hut sank into the lake because the ice had melted beneath Jerry’s “home on ice.” His grandchildren fondly recall his building awesome wind-racers for them so they could compete in the Celebration of Wind contests held for several years in Rawlins.

The Hamels shared a love of the Wy­oming outdoors and on many week­ends, the truck would be packed with camping gear for a new adventure by the time Jerry got home from work, and they headed out, teaching their children and later grandchildren, how to fish, hunt and care for each other while also enjoying the beauty and bounty of the Wyoming outdoors.

The couple have three children, Amber, Jerry, Jr., and Rusti and instilled into each of them a love for the country and how to do things, especially on those “Hamel Days,” when anything that could possibly go wrong did, often ensnaring innocent bystanders. Each of them was taught early how to change a flat tire, change the oil in their vehicles and fix something that had broken. He showed them how a few times and then allowed them to figure it out themselves instead of relying on dad to bail them out.

Jerry loved elk camp and hunting in general, and his children recall how patient he was with them when they were young hunters, hesitating before taking a shot. He never panicked and calmly asked if the hunter was going to take a shot.

Many people recall how he would go out of his way to help anyone in need, re­gardless of circumstance. His niece, Free­dom, recalls that her uncle Jerry and aunt Judy were there for her during particularly difficult times in her life and that they showed her the meaning of family love.

His love of holiday decorations is leg­endary, with many people making spe­cial trips to drive by the Hamel home to see what decorations Jerry had put up to mark a particular holiday. He began with handcrafted Christmas decora­tions, but later also utilized blow-ups for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Easter.

Jerry loved to read and read many books throughout his lifetime, mostly westerns and he also loved watching western movies. Jerry frequented local book exchanges and if anyone reads an old western, they might find Jerry’s small initials in the front of the book.

From the beginning of their married life, the Hamels focused on being togeth­er, whether the adventure was planned, as were their many Christmas gift trips with one another, or a spontaneous jaunt across the country to see family in Ver­mont or Florida or a quick get-away trip to Cabo, Mexico, they filled their lives with love, laughter and so many warm and wonderful memories.

Jerry is survived by his wife of 55 years, Judy; his daughter Amber (Ron) Grogan, grandchildren Madison and Zachary Grogan; son Jerry Hamel Jr. (Janna), grandsons, Bennett, Sawyer and Finn Hamel; daughter Rusti Christensen and grandson Cayden Christensen and numerous sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to https://eliteveteranoutfitters.org/ or the cause of your choice.