Obituary of Jack Hamilton

Eldon Lee (Jack) Hamilton, 89, passed away on Dec. 15, 2014 at Lincoln Community Hospital in Hugo, CO. Jack was born on Sept. 1, 1925 in Knowles, OK to Dewey and Jessie (McAtee) Hamilton, one of six children born to this union. In August, 1937, the family decided to move to Windsor, CO. They made it to the Kingsbury Ranch, which was ½ mile east of Masters, CO, when their car quit and they couldn’t get it started. They moved into a house in Masters and remained in the area for many years. Jack attended the Gates Public Schools while in OK and schools in Masters and Fort Morgan, CO. In 1943, Jack started working for the Union Pacific Railroad as a section hand laying railroad ties. He worked in the Masters area and in Wyoming. After returning home, he joined the Army on Nov. 17, 1943. While overseas he was stationed in France, Germany, Austria and Belgium, serving in the 723rd Railway Operating Battalion as a telephone and telegraph lineman. He was discharged from the service on April 8, 1946. Jack married Betty Darlene Dunlap on Jan. 27, 1947 in Goodland, KS. Two children, Clay and Roxana (Roxie), were born to this union. Their first home was on a farm near Masters where they farmed with Jack’s brother Johnny and his Dad. They eventually moved to Wiggins, CO and Jack bought a pool hall. After selling it in 1949, the family moved to the Eagles Nest Ranch near Masters, where Jack worked for Andy Orr until 1953. They then moved to Kirk, CO and he went to work farming for Walter Stalker. In 1960, Jack and Betty moved to Joes, CO and, after leasing a farm for one year, they decided to purchase it. Jack raised corn, wheat, alfalfa, cattle and hogs and operated a feedlot. In late 1978, they sold the farm and moved to Pine, CO in January, 1979. Realizing that they had moved away from their children and grandchildren, Jack and Betty moved to Hugo, CO in 1987 and stayed in their home until June, 2014, when they moved into Lincoln Park Care Center. Jack loved being a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He took great pride in his farming skills and raised some of the best corn in the Joes area. After retiring, he devoted a lot of time to creating wood and metal projects in his shop. Relying on memory only, he built farm equipment, wagons, windmills, toys and toy boxes, just to name a few. While Betty took care of the garden when they lived on the farm, after moving to Hugo Jack decided he still needed to farm, even if only in a small way. While he liked the garden, his real passion was the corn patch. Nothing gave Jack greater pleasure than to share the fruits of his labor with his family and people in the community. He also gave freely of his knowledge on how to raise corn to get a good crop. Jack loved to watch his grandchildren participate in all of their activities and to play with his great grandchildren. All of them were the pride of his life. Jack was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Pauline Rehor and husband Everett and Peggy Wilbanks and husband Bill, sister-in-law LaVerne Hamilton, brothers-in-law Bill, Neil and Roger Dunlap, and niece Debbie Larson. Jack is survived by his wife Betty, son Clay (Sue) Hamilton of Kirk, CO, their children Amy (Heith Rutledge) Schier and Jeremiah, Sarah Hamilton and Eian, Trinity, Trayston, Bravin and Asa, Matthew (Ronnyah) Hamilton and Alexandra, Samantha and Zachary; daughter Roxie (Mike) Devers of Hugo, CO, their children Todd Devers (Diahn Richards) and Ben and Brogan, and Marcy (Kurt) Brossman and Makayla, Kenzie and Kooper. He’s also survived by his brothers, Johnny Hamilton of Greeley and Donald (Teresa) Hamilton of Evans, sister June Walker of Greeley, brother-in-law Norman Dunlap (Janie) of Wheatridge, sisters-in-law Marilyn Dunlap of Colorado Springs, Ardie Dunlap of Golden, Verna Dunlap of Englewood, Glenda Peikert of Westminster, and many nieces and nephews.