John Ross Hamilton, 92, a resident of Darien, CT passed away February 15, 2017 after a short illness in Bennington, Vermont.
Born October 3, 1924 in Winchendon, MA, John was the youngest child of May Davina Ross Hamilton and The Reverend Rollo Albert Hamilton. An active member of Boy Scout Troop One in Flushing, NY, founded in 1910 by Daniel Beard and the Rev. Hamilton, John earned the rank of Eagle Scout and attended college with the support of an Eagle Scout Scholarship. His enthusiasm for scouting never abated and in later life he was both a Cub and Boy Scout Troop leader in Darien, CT.
He earned his BS in Physics in 1946 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Princeton University and graduated as an Ensign from Columbia Midshipman’s School serving in Guam during World War II. After the war, he completed his MBA at Harvard University.
John pursued a career in corporate finance, joining Procter and Gamble in 1949. He subsequently worked for Colgate Palmolive, Lever Brothers, The Bulova Watch Company, Crowell & Collier MacMillan and US Industries.
Leaving the corporate world in 1974, John pursued a PhD in Accounting at Boston University while teaching accounting and business finance at the collegiate level. He began his academic career at the University of Hartford, later joining the faculty at Western Connecticut State University, and retiring as an Associate Professor of Accounting from Fordham University in 1988.
His community interests included serving as a member of the Board of Finance for the town of Darien, Connecticut and a member of the Board of Directors of the Darien Nature Center in the 1980s.
He is survived by his companion, Harriette C. Thorne of Darien; his children, Heather C. Hamilton, and husband, Edd G. Lyon, MD, of Bennington, VT; John Ross Hamilton, Jr. and wife, Cynthia J. Babler, of Chicago, IL; Robert A. Hamilton and wife, Jackie Chu, of New Haven, CT; Hilary B. Hamilton and husband, D. Maurice Kreis of Hartland, VT; his granddaughters Anyata May and Isabel Helen Hamilton, 5 nieces and nephews, 13 great nieces and nephews and 14 great great nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his first wife, Roberta L. Hamilton, his second wife Barbara T. Hamilton, and his siblings, Dr. Donald Ross Hamilton, Elizabeth Hamilton Firehock, and Gordon Ross Hamilton.
John had a great love of nature and the outdoors. Gifts in his memory may be sent to either;
The Darien Nature Center, 120 Brookside Road, Darien, CT 06820 or Bearsville‐Fairview Cemetery, Inc., C/O Joe Thomas, 188 Cabin Run Rd., Middlebourne, WV 26149
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home in Bennington, VT. To send personal condolences, visit www.sheafuneralhomes.com.
— by the Family
A memorial service for John Ross Hamilton has been scheduled for May 6th at 2:00PM in the Noroton Presbyterian Church Chapel.
Celebration of Paul’s life, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Saturday, January 28, 2:30 p.m.
Joseph R. Sexton (Joe) was born on March 1, 1925 in Litchfield, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his parents, Elizabeth and Romeo Sexton, his sister, Eileen, his brother Jim, and his first wife, Barbara MacLea. Surviving Joe are his wife, Ann, his three sons Bennet of Stamford, CT, Steve of San Diego, CA, and Derek of New York NY, his step daughter Dianne Vara and her husband Michael, and his step grandchildren Chase, Carson and Claudia.
Philip Batterman Smith died on January 29th in Delray Beach Florida, after a brief illness. Mr. Smith was born in New York City on January 5, 1936 to Allen Batterman Smith and Eleanor Irving of Rye, NY. He was a resident of Darien, CT for 55 years, and part time resident of Delray Beach, Florida and Edgartown, Massachussetts.
Family, friends, and community lost a great man on January 28, 2016. George Michael Brookner, 79, of Norwalk died peacefully surrounded by his family at Norwalk Hospital.