By Annette Wright
The Truth Contributor
A great man passed away the other day.
Life is really interesting, isn’t it?
The people we meet…those we maintain relationships with, for whatever reason (family, business, profession, etc.) these people leave some sort of impression on us. Of course, some impressions are meaningless or unimportant. Some are quite profound and last throughout our lifetimes. Others are somewhere in between, right?
Dr. Larry E. Hamme, PhD, had the type of demeanor and personality that seems to have always left a very special impression on anyone who ever met him.
Dr. Hamme passed away on November 03, 2025. Just writing this seems surreal. Here was a man who seemed to have been assigned to life so that others could live. And suddenly he was gone.
I knew Dr. Hamme. Professionally and later personally. At his Homegoing Service I was not surprised to hear stories and testimonies of what a wonderful and dedicated therapist he was to so many people – especially young people. One lady said that she would not be alive today had it not been for her therapist, Dr. Hamme. A very young man, perhaps in his teenage years, arose to give his remarks – barely able to speak as he was overcome with emotions. These remarks and testimonies went on and on.
Then there were his colleagues from Unison Behavioral Health Group, where he retired as Chief Clinical Officer in 2016, the painful loss reflected on their faces. A former fellow student, who attended the University of Toledo with him in the 1980’s shared her story about attending the School of Psychology with him where he was the only Black student at that time. He went on to be the first Black student to graduate with a PhD from UT’s School of Clinical Psychology program Amazing.
For certain, the most heart-touching moments were hearing his children speak about him. His beautiful daughter, Sana, who recently gave birth to his greatest gift, a grandson named Koah Elias, and his son, Lamar, who surely has made his dad quite proud of him, as he was the total image and likeness of Dr. Hamme.
I’m not sure if many people really understand or appreciate the great loss our community has suffered in the transition of this great, great man.
As a very close friend, I just thought I’d share this with you.