Paul Harold Hamilton

1954 - 2022

Paul Harold Hamilton, 67, went to be with the Lord on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. On Saturday morning, he had breakfast in heaven with his wife, Beth. How awesome is that?!

He was in Wickenburg, Arizona, vacationing with some of his lifelong friends, Arlan and Denise Hoskins and Ron and Bonnie Hoskins. He was having the time of his life! On Friday night, he got on his bike to go, have dinner and hang out with his friends. As he was crossing on the crosswalk of a busy highway, he was accidentally struck by a truck and went to heaven quickly.

Paul was born Feb. 10, 1954, in Clarinda, Iowa, to his parents, Harold Lee Hamilton and Margaret (Olson) Hamilton Taylor. Around age 4, they moved to Bedford, Iowa, and lived there through all of grade school. In high school, he was the first "town kid" to join FFA, which is when Farris Gray got Paul started in farming. The Gray family became like a second family to him for life. He graduated in 1972. He attended college first at Vennard (Bible College) for one year and then at Iowa State University where he received his bachelor's degree in farm management.

After college, he pursued his dreams of farming back in the Bedford area. One day in the late '70s, he saw Beth Hesse's picture in a Missionary Church magazine, asked her dad's permission, and started sending letters to her in Sierra Leone, Africa. In 1980, he married Elizabeth "Beth" Hesse of Fort Wayne, Indiana. They had three children and lived in Bedford, Iowa; Avoca, Nebraska; Elmo, Missouri; and Goshen, Indiana. He worked at a variety of jobs over the years, but has been a semitruck driver at Fiber By-Products in White Pigeon, Michigan, for the last 10 years.

Over the last four years, almost every weekend, the grandkids got to take turns spending the night at Grandpa Hamilton's. He would do all sorts of things with them … playing games like Memory and Skip-Bo, watching movies (that Grandpa almost always fell asleep during :D), going on bike rides, building Lego sets, playing the Wii or ping pong, or baking cookies. He would take them with him to church on Sunday morning and then out to eat quick for lunch or "dinner," as he called it. On some Friday nights, he led what he claimed was "small group," but was better known as "tiny group" because one other person was there. Ha! At work, he was quite the character and thoroughly enjoying teasing around with people and "giving them a hard time." He often would announce himself as their "No. 1 driver" just to get a rise out of co-worker friends. He loved having fun and laughing and joking around! Dad was also known for funny phrases or words he often used such as "Well, I'll be jiggered," "waRsh," and "phooey on it." In our family, he turned "stupid idiot" into a term of endearment that we have been laughing about for years! His hobbies included biking (with a boost from his battery assist), putting together puzzles, solving Sudoku puzzles, and reading lots of books! His favorite game was "Seven Up" and his favorite candy was M&Ms! He was known for stocking up on chips (because "they were a GREAT deal!") and bulk-buying fireballs (candy)! In the last few years, he has been dreaming of buying a Polaris Razor and an RV to go every year to Arizona with his friends. How beautiful that he got to finish his life there!

He is survived by son Luke (Elizabeth) Hamilton of Euless, Texas; daughter Heidi (Ben) King of Goshen, Indiana; daughter Heath (Travis) of Nappanee, Indiana; eight grandchildren: Avery B. (10), Josiah K. (9), Lincoln B. (9), Abigail K. (7), Blythe B. (6), Madison K. (5), Miles B. (4), and Sadie K. (2); his sisters: Janice Chapman of Reston, Virginia; Marcia (Bill) Fuller of Augusta, Kansas; Elinor Hamilton of Augusta, Kansas; and Julia (Roland) Nutt of Curtis, Nebraska; mother-in-law, Mary Hesse of Elkhart, Indiana; sisters-in-law, Becky Aldridge of Elkhart, Indiana and Ruth (Joe) Bowerman of Goshen, Indiana; and many nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.

Preceding him in death were his dad, Harold; his mom, Margaret; his wife, Beth; his second father figure, Farris Gray; his father-in-law, the Rev. Bill Hesse; and brothers-in-law, Craig Chapman and Steve Aldridge.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11. The funeral service will be Saturday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m. There will be an open mic for all to share memories during the ceremony and we would be delighted to hear them! Visitations and the service will be at Brenneman Memorial Missionary Church, 61115 S.R. 15, Goshen, IN 46528. Pastor Matt Maloney will be officiating. Burial will follow at Pleasant View Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be sent to Rieth-Rohrer-Ehret Funeral Home, 311 S. Main St, Goshen, IN 46526, to go toward Friendship Community-Based Ministry in Ethiopia, Africa.

Online condolences may be sent at www.rrefh.com.