Robert Hamilton

Robert Lee Hamilton was born March 12, 1931 to Lee and Nira Hamilton in Pratt, Kansas. He died September 13, 2015 in Bellingham, Washington. Raised in Pratt with his two sisters, the family had a cabin in Colorado where Bob explored the lakes and mountains, beginning a lifelong love of the outdoors. He dreamed of being a cowboy until a summer job as a ranch hand in Texas turned out to be more field clearing than cow punching. He started college intending to be a forest ranger but finally decided to become a doctor instead. Bob met his soon-to-be wife, Nancy Jo Munger, as he started medical school at the University of Kansas. In 1961, after service in the Air Force, they settled in Bellingham with their three children, and Bob started his Ob/Gyn practice. He served for a time as Whatcom County Health Officer and later as Chief of Staff at St. Joseph Hospital, and he was part of the group that built Northwest Medical Center. Bob hiked and climbed from the Cascades to the Rockies to Mt. Kilimanjaro. He took to the water in his sea kayak at a time when few were afloat. He enjoyed taking his kids on these adventures, even more so as they got older, when he passed along his appreciation of campfires and cocktail hour. He liked the idea of family. At home, he grew bumper crops of vegetables he didn’t necessarily enjoy eating. He had a sharp eye for human foibles but was forgiving of most, including his own. Nancy did not share Bob’s enthusiasm for the outdoors, but they both loved travel and saw the world together. A stroke made his last decade difficult, yet through perseverance and willpower he continued to live an engaged life and earned the affection and support of many people. He was preceded in death by his wife Nancy, in February. He is survived by children Evan (Jenifer Schwindt) of Bellingham, Christine Frohnen (David) of Henderson, NV, and Ryan (Kimberly) of Seattle; grandchildren Lindsey and Byron Frohnen and Perry and Lee Hamilton; and sisters Barbara Syrios of Wichita, KS and Mary Mead of Albuquerque, NM. The family would like to thank April for her kind and devoted care of Bob. A service will be held at St. James Presbyterian Church at 2:00 on Friday, Sep. 25th.

Robert Hamilton

March 12, 1931 - September 13, 2015