John W. "Jack" Hamilton

1933 - 2021

John W. "Jack" Hamilton
April 22, 1933 - March 25, 2021
John W. "Jack" Hamilton passed away on March 25, with Mary Lou, his wife of almost 50 years, by his side. A proud native San Franciscan, Jack was born to John W. Hamilton III and Camilla Loyall Hamilton. He attended Town School and Lowell High School, then traveled across the Bay to become a Cal Bear, where he joined the SAE fraternity and played rugby, baseball and water polo for Cal. He so loved his days and friends at Cal. Army life followed college with a peacetime posting to Wiesbaden, Germany with his first wife, Beverly Baumeister Hamilton, who pre-deceased him.
Back stateside, Jack's San Francisco real estate appraisal career evolved into Hamilton & Associates, later to become Hamilton Ricci & Associates, where he earned the highest admiration and respect of his peers and was loved by his junior associates for being a mentor and a fun guy. He was a well respected Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI) and the Society of Real Estate Appraisers (SREA). Following a move to Oakville, Jack opened a branch office in the Napa Valley. He was very active in appraising in Napa Valley and he was also on the Board of Napa County Landmarks.
Jack loved playing rugby for Cal, the Olympic Club and later the over forty Bald Eagles. He travelled far and wide in search of a good scrum and a pint of beer. He was even asked to play with the Canandian Evergreens in Japan and South America. Not bad for old guys!
He was an avid tennis player as well and especially enjoyed playing at the Olympic Club, TPC, and Meadowood. So many wonderful friends will remember being on the court with Jack.
His friends will also remember Jack for his great sense of humor, and for always having time for them.
Above all, he loved his family. One of his favorite Holiday traditions was reading The Night Before Christmas to his three granddaughters in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve. He would always spend hours picking out the perfect book for each one of them for Christmas thus instilling in them a love for reading.
He would also look forward to going to the Lair of the Bear each summer with all the family for a week of Lair dirt and priceless family time.
Jack lived his large, intense life with limitless gusto. Hiking was not just a walk in the great outdoors, but a lesson in survival that required inching around a protruding boulder on a six-inch ledge hundreds of feet above the ocean. Rugby was not just a young man's game, but brutal combat extending well into middle age. Charitable donations were not just a feel-good tax write-off, but a voluminous portfolio of wrongs he wanted to right, including contributions to a donkey rescue mission.
These are reflections of a life well lived, a life shared with family, friends, associates, and even strangers at times.
He will be greatly missed.
Jack is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, son John W. "Jack" Hamilton V, daughter Bonnie Hamilton, granddaughters Hayley Ricci, Juliet Ricci and Audrey Hamilton, and sister Elizabeth "The Brat" Vezzani. A private celebration will be held at a later date.
Donations may be made to ICAN, International Cancer Advocacy Network,
Jack Hamilton Memorial Fund; 27 West Morten Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85021-7246. https://askican.org/donate.html