Mary Hamilton

Mary Louise Swale Hamilton, 88, of Clarksville, Tenn., and formerly of Victor, Iowa, died on Oct. 12, 2017, at Signature Healthcare of Clarksville.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Victor United Methodist Church with Rev. Jim Davis officiating.  

Organist was Fred Stieffel. 

Burial was in the Victor Memorial Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Charles Hamilton, David Hamilton, Benjamin Kallemyn, Mitchell Kallemyn, Ted Hamilton and Daniel Kallemyn. 

Memorial contributions may be directed to Victor United Methodist Church.

Mary was born on Sept. 18, 1929 in West Union, the daughter of Albert and Ethel Matzenger Swale. 

Her mother was from Mobile, Ala. and passed away on Jan. 4, 1939 when Mary was 9 years old. She and her three brothers, Albert Jr., Ralph, and Don, were raised by their dad. He had a hard task but did well.

Mary attended Upper Iowa University in Fayette where she studied to be a teacher. Her friends all called her by her nickname of Mort. 

In the summers she worked at the Mental Health Institute in Independence, where she met another Mort, her future husband, Bernard Hamilton.

Mary and Bernard Hamilton of Winthrop were united in marriage on June 4, 1949 at The Little Brown Church in the Vale, Nashua. 

They lived in various places before settling in Winthrop to raise their children Charles, David, and Rosemary.

Mary kept busy working with and enjoying her three.

She also did many things in the United Methodist Church: teaching Sunday school and Bible School, Lay Speaker, a delegate to Annual Conference, and a certified Lab Teacher. 

Boy Scouts took up many family hours with Charles and David becoming Eagle Scouts and their dad serving as Scoutmaster. Later there were five Eagle Scouts in the family and one Gold in Girl Scouts. The entire family rode the El Capitan train to Philmont Scout Ranch in 1966 where everyone participated. 

After their children left home for the U.S. Air Force and college, Mort and Mary moved from Winthrop to Victor. They loved to travel in their Airstream, spending many winters in Florida and visiting their children around the country. They liked living on County Line Road where they enjoyed gardening.

Mary cared for her husband his last eight years, first in Victor and then in Bowie, Md., close to their daughter. They had been married almost 59 years when he passed away. 

Mary moved to Clarksville, Tenn. close to son Charles where she enjoyed playing the piano on Sunday afternoons at Uffelman Estates for the residents to sing hymns.

Her immediate family, mother, father, and three brothers, all preceded her in death. 

She is survived by her three children, Charles (Carole) Hamilton of Clarksville, Tenn., David (Mary) Hamilton of Houston, Texas, and Rosemary (Daniel) Kallemyn of Upper Marlboro, Md.; four grandchildren, Benjamin (Heidi) Kallemyn, San Antonio, Texas, Gretchen Walker (Raymond), Phoenix Ariz., Mitchell (Kristina) Kallemyn, Odenton, Md., and Ted Hamilton, Houston, Texas; and six great-grandchildren, Simon, Caleb, Levi, and Phoebe Kallemyn of San Antonio, Texas and Lillian and Henry Kallemyn of Odenton, Md.         43u43