George T. Hamilton

BOW - George T. Hamilton, 87, died Jan. 26, 2012, at the N.H. Veterans Home, Tilton.

He was born in Philadelphia June 13, 1924, son of Frank and Katherine (Twombly) Hamilton.

As a child, he lived in Marblehead, Mass., where he attended elementary school. He was a graduate of Tilton School, class of 1942. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was in the Fourth Air Force and the Far Eastern Air Forces. After World War II, he attended Springfield College, where he earned both a B.S. and an M.Ed.

With a broad background, he enjoyed a long career in the private, public and nonprofit sectors of New Hampshire. In 1946 he was introduced to the Appalachian Mountain Club as a hutman and later became manager of Dolly Copp Park. With this initial experience in the White Mountains, hiking and mountain climbing became one of the big joys of his life. Early in his professional career, he became a conservation officer for the N.H. Fish and Game Department, serving in Coos County.

In 1959 he became the AMC huts manager, having previously served as the assistant huts manager. He served as assistant planning director for resources and outdoor recreation in the N.H. Office of State Planning and as a special assistant for planning in the office of governor. In 1972 he was appointed to serve as director of N.H. State Parks.

He was regional president of BankEast in Concord and before retirement was president of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce.

He was affiliated with a number of organizations, including the N.H. Historical Society, The Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests, Camp Belknap as a camper and member of the board of directors, and Military Order of the Carabao. He served as president of the Bow Rotary Club, was chair of the Land Conservation Investment Program, and a member and past chair of AAA-NH. He served on the Professional Conduct Committee for the N.H. Supreme Court, as chair of the general campaign of the United Way of Merrimack County, vice chair of Appalachian National Scenic Trail Council, North Atlantic Region of the National Park Service as well as on many other public service boards and committees. He was the author of several articles for "Appalachia" and other publications.

He had been a director of the N.H. Gathering of the Scottish Clans and was a founder of the St. Andrews Society of New Hampshire. He was a member of the American Alpine Club and the AMC, and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International and a member of the First Congregational Church in Concord.

He was designated Conservationist of the Year by the Forest Society in 1988, awarded the George L. Plimpton Award for distinguished community service by Tilton School in 1992, and received the Granite State Award for outstanding public service from the University of New Hampshire in 1992. He and his wife, Helen, received the Distinguished Citizen of the Year recognition from the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce in 2004.

He is survived by his wife, Helen Strong Hamilton; two sons, Robert Hamilton and his wife, Heidi, and their children, Annika, Lars and Tristan of Greenland, and Christopher Hamilton and his wife, Jennifer, and son Keegan of Sandown; two sisters, Susan MacCachran and Mary Louise McClelland, both of Kennebunkport, Maine; two half-sisters, Ruth Daigneault and Berenice Brooks, both of Townshend, Vt.; niece Carrie (MacCachran) LePordo and nephews Bradford and Andrew MacCachran; and many cousins.

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SERVICES: A memorial service is Saturday, Feb. 18, at 11 a.m. in First Congregational Church, 177 N. Main St., Concord. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the N.H. Veterans Home Benefit Fund, 139 Winter St., Tilton 03276; Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests, Portsmouth Street, Concord 03301; AMC Huts & Trails, 5 Joy St., Boston, Mass. 02018; or to the organization of one's choice.