Charlotte C. Hamilton

Charlotte (Child) Hamilton, wife of the late Francis “Frank” Hamilton, formerly of Newtown, died on June 13 at her home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Penn., following a long and valiant struggle with ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease).

A remarkable and accomplished woman, she cherished her family and friends and found great pleasure in each moment of her life, for example riding on her motorized cart through Chestnut Hill and greeting her many fiends.

She was born in New York City in 1926, the daughter of William and Emma (Strand) Child. She was the niece of Charles Follen McKim, the architect. She attended the High School of Music and Art in New York, and graduated from the Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. She was also a graduate of the Packer Collegiate Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (Division of Occupational Therapy), and Western Connecticut University with several advanced degrees. In the 1940s and 50s, she was the senior occupational therapist at the Southbury Training School in Connecticut. She then taught first grade at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown for 40 years, retiring in 1985. On her retirement, a playground was built, including pieces painted in her honor by the children’s illustrator Stephen Kellogg, illustrating the story of Charlotte’s Web (by E.B. White).

A resident of Newtown for nearly 50 years, she moved to Philadelphia in 1996. There she continued with her great interests in gardening, bridge, and needlework. For several years, she was the coordinator of Morris Arboretum Community Gardens, and she was an active member of the Chestnut Hill Senior Center Bridge Group.

She is survived by her son, Alexander Folkes Hamilton, her daughter-in-law Meredith VanSyckle, and their daughters Maya and Lucy, all of Woolwich, Maine. Her daughter, Alice Child Hamilton Farley, her son-in-law Richard Farley and their children, Alexander Hamilton Farley, Patrick Speakman Farley, and Elizabeth McKim Farley, all of Philadelphia, also survive her.

A Quaker memorial service will be held in Alice’s garden in several weeks.

Contributions in her memory may be made to the ALS Association marked “for research” and sent to: ALS Association-Greater Philadelphia Chapter, 500 Office Center Drive, Suite 340, Fort Washington, PA 19034.

The Newtown Bee         June 21, 2002