Lewisburg – Jeanne Lenore George Hamilton died at her home Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, at the age of 95.
Mrs. Hamilton was born in Wheeling on Aug. 3, 1923. She was the oldest of three children and was a great help to her mother with her two brothers. When her Elkview High School classmates voted her “Prettiest Girl,” “Best Personality” and “Best All-Around,” they identified the unique combination of beauty and strength she showed throughout her life.
Mrs. Hamilton married Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr., in 1946 and started their family in 1950 in Charleston, WV. In 1961, they moved with their three children to Berea, KY, where they were active in the community and Union Church. In 1972, they returned to West Virginia, residing in Lewisburg. Over the course of their 60-year marriage they worked together establishing their family coal business, raised their three children and two grandchildren, traveled the world and were the perfect hosts.
In Lewisburg, Mrs. Hamilton was an active member of Old Stone Presbyterian Church, serving as an Elder and Moderator of Presbyterian Women. She was a member of P.E.O., the Greenbrier Historical Society and Lewisburg Garden Club. She served on the committee to restore the Governor’s Mansion and was honored by American Mothers as West Virginia’s Mother of Year in 1987.
Together with her husband, Mrs. Hamilton supported countless charities including Davis Stuart School, Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, Greenbrier Valley Theater, WVU School of Medicine, WVU Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, and the WVU Eye Institute. In 2006, they started The Jeanne G. Hamilton and Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr., Family Foundation.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her daughter, Beverly Hamilton Moran; her mother, Edna Fuchs George; and her brothers, William George and Robert George.
She is survived by her son, Lawson W. Hamilton, III, and wife Townley, of Lewisburg, and her daughter, Barbara Hamilton Ford of Lewisburg. Her grandchildren are Courtney Moran O’Neil and husband Kevin, of Charlotte, NC; Meredith Moran German and husband W. Ross of New York, NY; Gary Allen Ford, Jr., and wife Samantha of Masontown, WV; Ora Lawson Ford of Lexington, VA; Hamilton Lake Ford of Lewisburg; Taylor Ford Showalter and husband Justin of Lexington, VA; Kathleen Ford Sayles and husband Talor of Flat Rock, NC; Barbara Lee Ford and husband Devin Judy of Glenwood Springs, CO; Cassie Cole Ford of Glenwood Springs, CO; and Lawson W. Hamilton, IV, of Lewisburg. She has six great-grandchildren, Beverly George O’Neil, McCarthy Moran O’Neil, Lawson William O’Neil, Gary Allen Ford, III, Austyn Marie Ford, and Caidence Lake Sayles.
A service of entombment took place Monday, Sept. 10, at Cunningham Memorial Park in St. Albans.
A memorial service was held Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Old Stone Presbyterian Church where the Reverend Dr. Anna Pinckney Straight officiated.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Davis Stuart School, 163 Cottage Drive, Lewisburg, WV 24901.
Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home in Lewisburg is in charge of arrangements.
Please send online condolences by visiting www.WallaceandWallaceFH.com.
