Ruth Ellen Hamilton

Ruth Ellen Nanny Hamilton, 88, of Dinwiddie, Virginia, passed away on Monday, December 11, 2023 at Southside Regional Medical Center.  Born on August 15, 1935, she was the daughter of the late Edward Lee and Ellen Oceal Lewis Nanny. 

At 49, Ellen retired from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company in Petersburg, VA.  Once Gene retired, they purchased homes and fixed them up for resale.  She loved talking to people and finding out where they were from and who their family was because she knew she had to be kin to them somehow! Her laugh was contagious, and she was dearly loved by so many people. She liked it when her grandchildren and great grandchildren visited because they all knew where the candy drawer was.  In the mornings, she would drink her coffee and watch the birds and  the squirrels scurry around her backyard. Around her patio are beautiful flowers that she had planted over the years that she would tell stories about of who gifted them to her. She loved her home in “the field” as she would say.  She loved country music and would sing her heart out when a song would come on that she loved, especially Daniel O’Donnell’s music.  

Ellen is survived by her devoted husband of 58 years, Gene Hamilton; their two daughters, Janet F. Turner (Donald) and Michelle H. DiRienzo (Chris); grandchildren, David E. Turner and wife, Jenny, Jamie L. Turner and wife, Courtney, Aedan C. DiRienzo, and Anna S. DiRienzo; great-grandchildren, Taylor Turner, Julianna Turner, and Ashton Turner.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at the Crater Road Chapel of the E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes and Crematory, 3935 S. Crater Road, Petersburg, Virginia 23805 with the Reverend Robert L.  Rowland III officiating.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Kenston Forest School, 75 Ridge Road, Blackstone, VA 23824.  Interment will be private. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.