Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr., 84, of Lewisburg died November 14, 2007, at
the University of Virginia Medical Cente Born February 4, 1923, in
Charleston, he was a son of the late Lawson W., Sr. and Dorothy Taylor
Hamilton. He was a 1940 graduate of Charleston High School, attended
Morris Harvey college and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Lawson was a self-made coal kingpin, philanthropist and devoted
riverman, a lover of good times on the river and elsewhere. He was
known for his gruff voice and a folksy manner that belied his wealth.
He spent much of his life and a lot of his money producing fun times
for friends.
Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr., 84, of Lewisburg died November 14, 2007, at the University of Virginia Medical Cente Born February 4, 1923, in Charleston, he was a son of the late Lawson W., Sr. and Dorothy Taylor Hamilton. He was a 1940 graduate of Charleston High School, attended Morris Harvey college and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Lawson was a self-made coal kingpin, philanthropist and devoted riverman, a lover of good times on the river and elsewhere. He was known for his gruff voice and a folksy manner that belied his wealth. He spent much of his life and a lot of his money producing fun times for friends.
“He loved people more than any person I ever say,” said Mingo County businessman Buck Harless, a close friend since 1955. “He gave those parties because he wanted to be with friends, not because he wanted to show off. He had a heart as big as a washtub.”
“I hope people will say of me that I shared what the Lord gave me,” Hamilton said last year in an interview for a commissioned memoir. “I hope they will remember the good times we had. “…I just love to have people around me enjoying themselves. You can’t take it with you. If I can enjoy it while I’m here and have other people enjoy it, what better way is there to spend it?”
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I don’t think any of us will ever know anybody quite like him,” said Charlie Jones of Amherst Industries. “To hundred of people, he was the most caring, thoughtful and generous person they will ever know.” (Excerpts taken from Sandy Wells’ article in The Charleston Gazette on November 15, 2007)
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, November 17 at the Old Stone Presbyterian Church in Lewisburg. The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. today, Friday, November 16, at McGraw Funeral Home, Lewisburg, and from 1:30 until 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the University of Charleston Rotunda.
Entombment will be 4 p.m. Saturday in Cunningham Memorial Park, St. Albans.
The family suggests that donations be made to the Lung Cancer Research Program, c/o David R. Jones, M.D., PO Box 800679, Charlottesville, VA 22908; Old Stone Presbyterian Church, 200 Church Street, Lewisburg, WV 24901; Beverly Hamilton Moran Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Joyce Nixon, High School Scholarship, Berea Board of Education, Berea, KY 40403
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