John R. Hamilton, 92

BENNINGTON, Vt. — John Ross Hamilton, 92, a resident of Darien, Conn., passed away February 15, 2017, after a short illness in Bennington, Vt. 

Born October 3, 1924 in Winchendon, Mass., John was the youngest child of May Davina Ross Hamilton and The Reverend Rollo Albert Hamilton. An active member of Boy Scout Troop One in Flushing, N.Y., founded in 1910 by Daniel Beard and the Rev. Hamilton, John earned the rank of Eagle Scout and attended college with the support of an Eagle Scout Scholarship. His enthusiasm for scouting never abated and in later life he was both a Cub and Boy Scout Troop leader in Darien, Conn. 

He earned his BS in Physics in 1946 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Princeton University and graduated as an Ensign from Columbia Midshipman School, serving in Guam during World War II. After the war, he completed his MBA at Harvard University. John pursued a career in corporate finance, joining Procter and Gamble in 1949. He subsequently worked for Colgate Palmolive, Lever Brothers, The Bulova Watch Company, Crowell & Collier MacMillan and US Industries. 

Leaving the corporate world in 1974, John pursued a PhD in Accounting at Boston University while teaching accounting and business finance at the collegiate level. He began his academic career at the University of Hartford, later joining the faculty at Western Connecticut State University, and retiring as an Associate Professor of Accounting from Fordham University in 1988. His community interests included serving as a member of the Board of Finance for the town of Darien, Connecticut and a member of the Board of Directors of the Darien Nature Center in the 1980s. 

He is survived by his companion, Harriette C. Thorne of Darien; his children, Heather C. Hamilton and husband Edd G. Lyon, MD, of Bennington, Vt.; John Ross Hamilton Jr. and wife Cynthia J. Babler of Chicago, Ill.; Robert A. Hamilton and wife Jackie Chu of New Haven, Conn.; Hilary B. Hamilton and husband D. Maurice Kreis of Hartland, Vt.; his granddaughters Anyata May and Isabel Helen Hamilton; five nieces and nephews; 13 great-nieces and-nephews ;and 14 great-great-nieces and -nephews.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Roberta L. Hamilton; his second wife Barbara T. Hamilton; and his siblings, Dr. Donald Ross Hamilton, Elizabeth Hamilton Firehock, and Gordon Ross Hamilton. 

Funeral notice: A memorial service will be announced at a later time. John had a great love of nature and the outdoors. Gifts in his memory may be sent to either the Darien Nature Center, 120 Brookside Road, Darien, CT 06820 or Bearsville Fairview Cemetery, Inc., C/O Joe Thomas, 188 Cabin Run Rd., Middlebourne, WV 26149.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home in Bennington, Vt.