William McCoy Hamilton

William McCoy Hamilton, 89, formerly of West Caldwell, N.J., passed peacefully on August 4th, 2022.

Affectionately known to all as "Ham", he was born in Sussex, NJ on July 6, 1933, the only child of George and Frances Hamilton. Ham graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in 1951, and attended Pennsylvania State University. He married Bette Jane Auble on November 1, 1958. They made their home in West Caldwell for many years and raised two children, Donna Lyn Hamilton and Richard William Hamilton.

Ham had a long career as a senior field supervisor with the Public Service Electric and Gas Company before retiring in 1993. On December 22, 1984 he married Nancy Wilkinson and they enjoyed a long retirement living in Bluffton, SC, until her death in 2019.

Ham was an avid camper, spending many summers with family and friends in the Adirondacks at Lewey Lake, spring breaks in Myrtle Beach, and took a memorable cross country camping trip with his family in 1969.

He was also passionate about scouting and served as the Scoutmaster of Troop 9 for many years. He was a skilled mechanic and fully restored a 1957 Ford Thunderbird convertible that he enjoyed showing at classic car festivals with his car club, the Carolina Dreamers.

In addition to his two children, he is survived by his five grandchildren: Aidan "Drake" Linscott, Morgan Hamilton, Bryce Hamilton, Luke Hamilton and Katelyn Hamilton.

There will be a celebration of his life from 4 to 6pm on Thursday, September 29th at Paul Ippolito-Dancy Memorial, 9 Smull Avenue, Caldwell NJ, where there will be an opportunity to share memories with Ham's friends and family members.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the West Caldwell Volunteer Fireman's Department, ATTN: Fire Department, 30 Clinton Rd., West Caldwell, NJ 07006 or at
http://www.wcvfd.org would be appreciated.