Stuart Hamilton

1920 - 2016

July 12, 1920 - January 23, 2016 A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 27, for Stuart Hamilton of Englewood, Florida and formerly of Deerfield, Illinois. The service will take place at 11 a.m., at St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, 815 Wilmot Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Visitation will precede the service at 10 a.m. in the church's Founders Hall. Stuart Hamilton, 95, died January 23 at his Englewood, Florida home. Born in Topeka, Kansas, on July 12, 1920 to Clay and Ernestine (Klein) Hamilton, he was educated in Topeka public schools. He enrolled in Northwestern University in 1938 and in 1940 he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve. Called to active duty shortly before Pearl Harbor, he received additional specialized training and was assigned to patrol torpedo boats in the South Pacific, where he served for the remainder of World War II. He was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart and participated in the search for John F. Kennedy. Following his military service he returned to Northwestern to complete his undergraduate studies. In 1946 he joined the Northern Trust Bank in Chicago as a management trainee and worked there until his retirement in 1985. Early in his banking career he enrolled in the University of Chicago's Executive Program, where he received his MBA. During his years at the Northern Trust he oversaw the installation of the bank's first computer system and served as Executive Vice President in charge of Operations; he also oversaw the establishment of the bank's branch facilities. Additionally, he represented the Northern Trust as Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Chicago Clearing House and was President of the Midwest Securities Trust Company. In the 1970s and 1980s he served on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institute of Technology. For 30 years he was an active member and vestryman of St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in Deerfield. Other affiliations included the American Bankers' Association, the Bank Administration Institute, the University Club of Chicago, Exmoor Country Club, the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club and the Venice Yacht Club. Away from work, Stuart's lifelong love of travel took him to all 50 states but Alaska, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the British Isles, and northern, central and southern Europe. He also enjoyed golf, dancing and a cutthroat game of cribbage. A longtime resident of Deerfield, he was married for 59 years to Marianne (Patten) Hamilton, who preceded him in death in 2001. In May 2003 he, married Fay Bernhardt of Venice, Florida, who survives him. Other survivors include his sons Mark R. Hamilton of Chicago and Scott A. (Elizabeth) Hamilton of Vernon Hills, Illinois; two grandchildren; and step-grandchildren. A memorial service was held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Venice, Florida, January 28. Burial will be later at St. Gregory's and Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the National Parkinson Foundation or the American Cancer Society will be greatly appreciated.