A gentleman and a gentle man, James Milburn Hamilton let go of his girls hands to take the hand of his Lord and Savior’s on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas.
James was born in Weatherford, Texas right on time August 14, 1963 at 12:50pm.
Clearly the most loved child of Charles and Beth Hamilton, James was adored beyond words.
He spent most of his early days hanging out with his grandparents, Ruby and Orville and his Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Wilson. One day before the age of five, he stood up on a picnic table with that foursome at the Malt Shop and said “I am tired of hanging out with you old people!” He tagged along on dates with his older sister Kay and now husband Rick and his brother Pat and now wife Sharon.
He eventually found friends his own age and spent his youth riding bikes and exploring off the beaten path with his childhood friend Ken Hartness. James was the youngest president of the Weatherford Optimists Club. He loved being a student so much he decided to become a teacher. He received a full scholarship in choir from Howard Payne University where he received his bachelor’s degree in education. He served as President of the Student Body at Howard Payne. He got his first master’s degree from The University of North Texas at Denton in history. He got to go to Washington D.C. to intern for a congressman, and then was asked to join the staff as the legislative assistant to that same Representative Charles Stenholm D-TX.
James loved being on Capitol Hill. He got to take visitors of the congressman into the Library of Congress and hold books that belonged to Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. It was James‘s dream job sharing history.
He spent several years working for think tanks and assorted coalitions in DC to try to preserve Social Security. While with Charlie, he worked on veterans affairs issues as well as education issues. Eventually, he met the woman he said he’d prayed for his whole life, his beloved Kelly Lindner-he told everyone “I had to go to Washington D.C. to find Kelly” He named their future children on their second date. Kelly was taken aback, but she eventually succumbed to his charm, he celebrated their weekiversary every Friday for more than twenty years. After courting for a few months, they became engaged and shortly thereafter were blessed with the gift of their daughter, Ruby Jacqueline Hamilton, who changed their life completely and for the very best. James had a desire to travel, but had only ever put his foot into the Rio Grande on the Mexico side when he met Kelly, and after spending their honeymoon in London, he was bitten by the travel bug and subsequently traveled to Paris, Rome, Glasgow, London many times, Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin, Collioure, France where he placed a rock on the grave of his favorite writer Patrick O’Brien. He drove through the Pyrenees mountains to Figueres, Spain to the museum where Salvador Dali is buried. James drove to Warsaw for his beloved Kelly to see her homeland. He drove south to Oswiecim, Poland to tour Auschwitz then on to Vienna, Austria where he enjoyed a night of the music of Mozart. Taking Ruby to have mass with Pope Benedict at the Vatican was a highlight of his life as he’d converted to Catholicism with the love and support of his Godparents Bob and Gale Bradford. The family additionally traveled to Brussels, Belgium, Istanbul, Turkey, Asia. James shared all the historical facts he had about so many places that they traveled-James lived by the Mark Twain quote “travel is the enemy of bigotry”. James loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. He got a unique opportunity to sing with a quartet at the home of Martha Washington’s granddaughter in Washington DC and years later, thanks to his fellow Scotsman and dear friend Walter Crawford was able to sing in the chapel of the Hamilton Mausoleum in Hamilton, Scotland-it’s on YouTube. He went on to get a second master’s degree in educational administration and started a school in south central Texas for children who’d been taken by CPS. Prior to that in 2009, James wanted to show students at a local high school how government worked so he asked them to help run his campaign for Weatherford City Council and for weekends, James would take a group of boys and Kelly and Ruby would take girls door knocking and campaigning- he won by a landslide and became Vice Mayor of his hometown.
James always looked for a reason to say yes, whether helping his daughter collecting bugs for a science project or setting up one of the many events his wife was in charge of. He will be forever missed by his girls. James would like to thank Sherita Hagberg, the chaplain at Arrington Center who shared hymns and prayers and Mila, his favorite Ukrainian nurse. James was so thankful to Kara Copeland, Tonya Combest and the team from Beyond Faith Hospice; Michalea Perez who offered her entire staff from Cornerstone Caregiving as well as food, love and remodeling a bathroom to accommodate James. James was so grateful to be a part of the Cornerstone extended family and adored Kassie, Caiden, Sabrina, Krishelle and Brett. His angel Monica Briley and his favorite caregiver-Joseph Lary, his Broseph. In the last month he got to see his three nieces and nephew, his sister-in-law Debbie and his best friend from D.C. Chuck Blahous, which he was most grateful for. He also loved his brother-in-law Greg Lindner like his own.
James will be buried next to his beloved mother and father and grandparents on his birthday Wednesday, August 14th. James was known for a wonderful story about yellow flowers from a family road trip that will be his legacy- so please think of him anytime you see one. He wants you to know two things: It costs nothing to be kind and “it is well with my soul”
The family invites you to their home (5424 96th Street, Lubbock) on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, from 5:00-7:00 pm to join them in honoring James and sharing fond memories.
On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the family would love for you to join them for a Celebration of James’s life at 10:00 a.m. in the Family Life Center at Lakeshore Baptist Church, 200 South Lakeshore Drive, Hudson Oaks, Texas. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to aid in Ruby’s education at Texas Tech where she is entering her junior year as a Pre-Med Psychology Student. Donations in Ruby’s name may be sent to Prosperity Bank 1300 Santa Fe Drive, Weatherford, TX 76086 Attn: Kimla Shelley.
