Darlene Hamilton

Darlene Matthews Hamilton, age 79, of Columbus, OH passed away peacefully on April 6, 2024.
Darlene Elsie Matthews was born June 10, 1944 in Columbus, OH and spent her childhood on her family's farm in Galena, OH with her brothers Norman and Stanley, her mother Arie, and father Wesley Matthews. She loved to be outside, loved her animals, loved spending time in the barn with her dad, and loved the freedom that farm life provided. She attended Big Walnut High School, where she played basketball, ran track, was a member of the National Honor Society, president of the Y-Teens, and member of the Girls Athletic Association (before it was cool for girls to be athletes!). She went on to graduate from The Ohio State University with a degree in Library Science and took graduate classes at the University of Texas. While in Texas, Darlene spent many hours exploring the beach at Corpus Christi and driving the state in a convertible with her dog Sabra. She loved to tell the tale of the time Sabra got her out of a speeding ticket by growling at the officer who pulled her over! Darlene often remembered her time in Texas as some of the best days of her life.
After moving back to the midwest, Darlene worked as a librarian at the Marietta Public Library in Marietta, OH where she was responsible for the children's section and ran the Storytime program. After relocating to Centerburg, OH, she spent many years working as a research librarian at Merrill-Mcgraw Hill.
Darlene was fiercely loyal to her family, including her parents, brothers, nieces, nephews, and particularly her 3 children Andrea, Kami and Nick. The family lived at a variety of locations through the years, but wherever they were, there was a lot of love, a lot of noise, and never a shortage of burned rolls at holiday meals! She was a fixture at her kids activities, and would welcome in anyone who walked through the door. She loved dancing (Twist and Shout was her favorite), and took up slow pitch softball, skiing, and rock collecting as an adult. She married Tom Hamilton in Hawaii in 1995. In retirement, she loved exploring the outdoors, taking long walks with her dogs, and collecting rocks. As a grandmother to Drew, Harvest, Jack, Rowan and Isabella, Darlene was the best down on the ground, make believe playing, adventure planning, block tower building Nana they could ask for. Were she here, she would tell you how sad she was to not have had a chance to meet her newest grandchild, Maizy, born in February, but we look forward to seeing parts of Darlene in Maizy as she gets older. Her family will miss her greatly.
Darlene is survived by her husband, Thomas Hamilton, beloved dog Luka, and three children-Andrea (Jim) Berkenkamp of Redondo Beach California; Kami (Becky Lyon) Yeager of Nelsonville, OH; and Nick (Nicole) Yeager of Newark, OH. She is also survived by three stepchildren-Brian (Kayli) Hamilton of Dublin, OH; Scott (Katie) Hamilton of Worthington, OH; and Kathy Roberts of Cincinnati, OH. She is survived by six grandchildren-Maizy Berkenkamp, Andrew Berkenkamp, Harvest Lyon-Yeager, Jack Yeager, Rowan Yeager, and Isabella Yeager. She is also survived by 6 step grandchildren-Allison Hamilton, Chance Roberts, Sunny Roberts, Addison Hamilton, Betsy Hamilton, and Molly Hamilton. She is also survived by her niece and nephews Marla Good, Mark Matthews, and Stuart Matthews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Arie and Wesley Matthews, sister Geniva June, and brothers William, Norman and Stanley Matthews.
The family would like to acknowledge the special love, care, and hard work that Kami Yeager and Harvest Lyon-Yeager have put in through the years that allowed Darlene to live at home with Tom for as long as she possibly could. Thank you so much for your love and sacrifice.
A memorial service will be held for Darlene at Snyder Funeral Home-DeVore Chapel, 637 State Rte 61, Sunbury, OH 43074, on May 4th at 4 PM. Visitation will precede the service from 2-4 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Franklin County Humane Society.
Snyder Funeral Homes, DeVore Chapel is honored to assist the Hamilton family with funeral arrangements. Please share a memory of Darlene or a message of condolence with the family at www.snyderfuneralhomes.com