Glenn Hamilton
1931-2018
David Glenn Hamilton passed from this life on May 31, 2018, at the age of 87. Glenn was born to Joe and Lottie (Roll) Hamilton of rural Belle Plaine, KS, on January 22, 1931, the eighth of nine children. He grew up on the family farm northwest of Belle Plaine and graduated from Belle Plaine High School in 1949. With the onset of the Korean War in 1950, Glenn volunteered for the US Army. While on leave, he married Joyce Duvall, also of Belle Plaine, on July 7, 1951, in Claremore, OK. Back on duty with the Army, he served in Tokyo, Japan. After being transferred stateside, Glenn and Joyce resided in Colorado Springs, CO, for the duration of his military service. Except for that time and a brief residence in Derby, KS, Glenn and Joyce were lifelong residents of Belle Plaine.

Glenn was a lifelong farmer, raising wheat, soybeans and livestock. He also worked on the assembly lines at the Beech and Boeing aircraft companies in Wichita, owned and operated a number of small business enterprises, and was a rural letter carrier for the US Postal Service. He was active in the National Rural Letter Carriers Association and was a frequent blood donor. After his retirement from the Postal Service in 1996, Glenn enjoyed golfing with friends and family and became a collector of glass and porcelain insulators, decorative and rare bricks, antiques and other odds and ends. He traveled far and wide across North America in pursuit of his hobbies, usually with wife Joyce and sometimes with his brother Gary and wife, Charlene. Glenn and Joyce had been married nearly 64 years when she passed away in 2015. Glenn was a regular for coffee with the local “Liars’ Club” and his cheerful disposition and mischievous wit will be missed by many.

Glenn was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, three brothers and two sisters. He is survived by sisters Beulah Watkins of Naples, FL, and Inez Savage of Tucson, AZ; brother Howard Hamilton of Wichita, KS; sons James Hamilton (wife Bobbie) of Austin, TX, and Scott Hamilton (wife Melissa) of Wakarusa, KS; daughters Susan Chisolm (husband Jim) of Houston, TX, and Sally Sullivan (husband Doug) of Andover, KS; granddaughters Hannah Richardson (husband Eric) of Greenville, TX, Jasmine Hamilton of Los Angeles, CA, Victoria Hamilton of Overland Park, KS, Alyssa Hamilton of Austin, TX, Olivia Hamilton of Topeka, KS, and Riley Chisolm of Houston, TX; grandsons Ian Chisolm of College Station, TX, and William Hamilton of Wakarusa, KS; great-grandson Easton Richardson; and several nephews, nieces and other extended family for whom he cared genuinely.

Visitation will be held Sunday, June 3 from 1-8 pm at Smith Mortuary in Derby. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, at Bartlett Arboretum. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bartlett Arboretum.