Frances Hammer, Industrialist’s Wife, Dies at 87

Frances Hammer, wife and adviser to industrialist Armand Hammer, died Saturday in Los Angeles after a brief bout with pneumonia. She was 87.

Hammer, founder and chairman of Occidental Petroleum, was with her when she died at UCLA Medical Center. She contracted pneumonia while recovering from surgery for a broken hip, Occidental Petroleum spokesman Frank Ashley said.

A constant companion over the last 33 years to her husband, Frances Hammer traveled around the world as he pursued business and philanthropical interests. She was a member of the Blue Ribbon 400 Support Group for the Los Angeles Music Center.

Mrs. Hammer was also active in her husband’s work toward improved East-West relations and his efforts to find a cure for cancer.

Described by an Occidental spokesman as a painter in her own right, Frances Hammer also shared her husband’s interest in the arts and was involved in a number of civic and charitable activities, including co-founding the International Student Center at UCLA.

Born April 4, 1902, in Chicago, she married Armand Hammer in 1956. The two had been friends for many years and were married after Mrs. Hammer was left a widow from an earlier marriage and Mr. Hammer’s previous marriage ended in divorce.

She served on the Campo Bello International Park Commission, which oversees the U.S. and Canadian International Peace Park at Campobello. The park, the site of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s favorite retreat, was purchased by Armand Hammer, who then gave it as a gift to both countries.

She was also a charter member of the board of directors of the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West in Montezuma, N.M.

In recent years, she participated in a series of conferences on international peace and human rights sponsored by her husband at various locations around the world. And in 1981, she was honored in Los Angeles by the American Women for International Understanding.

She is survived by three sisters: Margaret Vandergrift of Los Angeles, Catherine Barrett of Chicago and Helen Andrews of New York City. She is also survived by a niece and two grandnephews.

Ashley said memorial contributions may be made to Stop Cancer, 10889 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 90024. Funeral services will be private.