Obituary

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.