John Wells Hamilton

JOHN WELLS HAMILTON, 76, passed away Friday August 6, 2010. Born in Spangler, Pennsylvania on December 3, 1933, the son of Helen Wells Hamilton and Dr. John Leckey Hamilton, John spent his formative years in Allison Park, Pa. and at the Wells Farm (Colliers, West Virginia) which was settled by Richard Wells in 1772 and still remains, after seven generations, in the family today. John was graduated from Shady Side Academy in 1951. He went on to attend Yale University with two Pittsburgh and life long Shady Side friends, Bill Butler and David McCullough. At Yale, John lived at Davenport College and was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. After graduation from Yale in 1955, armed with an Intensive Degree in Philosophy, wife Jean and daughter Nancy Wells, John decided to make a career on Wall Street, which became a lifetime passion. Starting with a regional investment firm in Cleveland, Ohio, John moved his family, now including John Brock and Elizabeth Anne, to Shrewsbury, New Jersey to join Lehman Brothers on Wall Street in late 1959. When he started at Lehman, there were 17 in sales---worldwide. Son John Stewart was born in New Jersey, shortly thereafter. From 1959 to 1972, John commuted to Wall Street from New Jersey where he worked with several investment firms until moving to Dallas, Texas with Dean Witter in 1972. He resumed his Wall Street career in May, 1975, with many old friends at Dean Witter, Drexel Burnham and Oppenheimer, while commuting from Greenwich, Connecticut. On August 23, 1980, John and Debbie Zenor (San Francisco) were married at the Old Presque Isle Light House in Presque Isle, Michigan, just down the road from his family's summer cottage of nearly 100 years on Grand Lake, where he vacationed all but 2 summers of his life. They were planning to celebrate their 30th anniversary there, later this month. John and Debbie, together with son Brock, started their investment management firm, Hamilton Advisors, Inc., which also celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. John was a member of the Greenwich Country Club, Campfire Club of America, the International Order of Characters, the Dinosaurs and the Alpena Country Club. Always ready with sharp wit and a sharp pen---now computer---John was a prolific writer. His eagerly awaited Commentaries offered his unique insight, philosophy and commentary on politics, history, the economy and the markets, often drawing notable parallels between past and present. On February 17, 2010, for example, he wrote, "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts," which he began by quoting a passage from Virgil's Aeneid, 19 B.C., proceeded on to a discussion of the euro, Greek government spending and the U.S. debt. As recently as June 4, 2010, in his Commentary titled "Subito Finito," an Italian phrase meaning "immediately finished," he wrote his observations on stock volatility and the May 6th "Flash Crash." Little did we know this would be his last---subito finito. Respected and revered by many, he was "Grumps" to his grandchildren. As his granddaughter Ellie reflected, "we used to suds our hair in Grand Lake. He taught me that Ivory soap floats and that a troll lives under our dockhe loves order, Switzerland, Mercedes, and opera. He prefers his animals stuffed (except for his long haired dachshunds) and his television (CNBC) on mute...". Indeed, he loved the finest of things, from visiting Brenner's Park in Baden Baden, Germany with Debbie (especially at New Year's) and Villa D'Este on Lake Como, Italy to good Texas barbeque. A man of many talents, he also took great delight in photography, and his photographs were cherished gifts at Christmas. In sum, he was complex---which makes his absence all the more poignant. He is missed by untold friends and most dearly by his family: his beloved wife Debbie, his children: daughter Nancy W. Hamilton (husband Charles L. Babcock, IV) of Houston, Texas, son John Brock Hamilton of Ridgefield, Connecticut, daughter Elizabeth Lavezzorio (husband Nicholas) of Lake Forest, Illinois, son John Stewart Hamilton (wife Kym) of Ligonier, Pennsylvania; his grandchildren: Ellie Sztykiel (husband Adam); Dr. Baker H. Hamilton (wife Emily), 1st Lt. J. Wells Hamilton USMC, Nicholas and William Lavezzorio; Ben Phillips, Katherine and Barbara Babcock; Andrew and Sam Langworthy; as well as his brothers Hebert H. Hamilton, Dr. Lewis L. Hamilton, Richard G. Hamilton and their families. John's family will gather later this summer at the cottage in Presque Isle, Michigan for a small private memorial. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Greenwich Hospital Center for Integrative Medicine, 5 Perryridge Road, Greenwich, CT. 06830, attention Development Department or to Greenwich Hospital Development at the same address.