Charlotte Hamilton

Charlotte E. Hamilton, nee Wagenaar, age 96, beloved wife for 71 years to Bruce Hamilton. Loving mother of Gayle (Bradford Petrie) Hamilton and the late Charyl (late Stephen) Padgett, and the late Dawn Joy Hamilton. Cherished grandmother of Lian Petrie and Matthew (Emily McGrath) Petrie. Dear sister of the late Johanna (late Bill) Meisner, the late Thelma (late Alex) Hinshelwood, the late Theodore Wagenaar, the late Helen (late Ray) Demich, and the late John (Nancy) Wagenaar. Aunt of many nieces and nephews.

Charlotte Hamilton was born on January 27, 1927, to Peter and Edith Wagenaar in Chicago, Illinois. The second-oldest of six siblings, she had anupbringing that was challenging but full of family escapades and laughter. Charlotte met the love of her life, Bruce Hamilton, in Chicago and they married in 1951. After a short stay in Chicago, and the birth of the first two of their three children, they moved to Homewood, Illinois, where their third child was born. There, Charlotte raised her three daughters, modeling determination, kindness, practicality, a love of reading, and a generosity of spirit to others. In addition to caring for her daughters, Charlotte practiced her expert sewing skills, and made many sharp outfits for herself, her daughters, her mother-in-law, and even Barbie dolls. A self-taught pianist, she enjoyed playing and singing, especially hymns, and her home was full of music. Often for extended periods, Charlotte and Bruce frequently opened their house to others, and hosted many out-of-town guests, relatives and friends who needed respite, missionaries, holiday get-togethers, and teenage sleepovers.

Charlotte’s religious faith was central to her life. She always felt that “church people” were crucial to her childhood family’s survival and, as an adult, she practiced that same kindness, mentoring, and generosity with a wide range of individuals. She was a Sunday School teacher and had other roles at Oak Lawn Bible Chapel, since its founding in 1956 to the present. She also frequently volunteered at Lake Geneva Youth Camp, and attended and supported the Conference Point Summer Bible Camp in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Many of her closest and longest friendships were made through these places.

Charlotte was always interested in the medical field, and eventually she was employed in it. Following graduation from Parker High School in Chicago, however, she held several different jobs at Illinois Bell Telephone in her teens and 20s – including as a telephone operator, a billing investigator, and the company’s first female supervisor of operators. Once her youngest daughter was in high school, Charlotte returned to work -- in a pediatric practice, where she did office/insurance work and aided the nurses. Subsequently, she did similar work for a group of surgeons, eventually accompanying the Chief of Surgery for (what is now) Advocate Christ Medical Center on his patient rounds.

For the past 30 years, Charlotte and Bruce split their time between homes in the Chicago suburbs and Sun City West, Arizona, and traveled around the U.S., visited with friends and relatives, and enjoyed grandchildren.

Visitation for Charlotte Hamilton is on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at Oak Lawn Bible Chapel, 4259 W. 107th St., Oak Lawn, IL 60453 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m. Burial is private at Chapel Hill Gardens South, Oak Lawn, IL.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to Emmaus Bible College, 2570 Asbury Rd., Dubuque, IA 52001 or Lake Geneva Youth Camp, W2655 W. South St., Lake Geneva, WI 53147 are appreciated.

Feel free to express your thoughts and condolences at colonialchapel.com 708-532-5400