Cecil Ray Hamilton October 03, 1926 – January 13, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers View/Sign Guest Book| Send Private Condolences| Send Sympathy Card FLORENCE – Cecil Ray Hamilton, 92, died Sunday, January 13, 2019, after an illness. Graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 16, 2019, in Mount Hope Cemetery, directed by Waters-Powell Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, at the funeral home.
He was born October 3, 1926 in Sea Level, NC, in a small fishing village near the Outer Banks of NC. He was the son of Pensa Claudia and Ray Hamilton. Cecil attended the University of Alabama and Auburn University (then Alabama Poly Technical Institute).
He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a bachelors degree in chemistry in 1950. Later he completed advanced studies in chemical engineering. During World War II, at the age of 17, he volunteered for the US Army, where after graduating from Officer Candidate School, he served as an Army officer in the European Theater.
He served as a Lt. in the 82nd Airborne Division. Immediately following the armistice, he saw duty in the Ski Patrol in the German Alps and later served in the Honor Guard in the Nuremburg War Crimes Trial.
Mr. Hamilton followed a 49-year career in the paper industry working for five different companies. Starting with a beginning labor pool position, he progressed through various hourly positions and through various technical and production management positions and retired as General Manager of Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation in Florence. He held many positions in the Technical Departments of the Pulp and Paper Industry as well as the Paper Industry Management Association, where he served as Chairman of the Southeastern Division.
After retirement he worked closely with his son for over ten years at Hamilton House Antiques. He was a long-time teacher, deacon, and elder at First Presbyterian Church and later was a founding member and elder at Trinity Evangelical Presbyterian Church. For many years, he traveled through the southeastern and midwestern states with his wife to lead or participate in Lay Renewal teams.
All his life, he retained his love of the sea, in which he grew up working as a crew member on his family fishing boats in the coastal towns and villages of NC. He is predeceased by his wife of 57 years, Carrie Dixon Hamilton, whom he met at UNC and married in Atlantic Beach, Florida in 1950; and an infant son. He is survived by his son, David Paul Hamilton; a daughter, Cecilia Frances Hamilton Sprawls, and son-in-law, Frazier Walton Sprawls, Jr.; a grandson, Hamilton Dixon Sprawls; and twin granddaughters, Amelia Frances Sprawls and Adelaide Grace Sprawls.
Memorials may be made to Trinity Presbyterian Church, 1021 S. Ebenezer Rd. , Florence, SC 29501; McLeod Hospice, c/o McLeod Foundation, P.O. Box 100551, Florence, SC 29502; or the Florence Area Humane Society, P.O. Box 4808, Florence, SC 29502. SERVICES Graveside Service Wednesday, January 16, 2019 11:00 AM Mount Hope Cemetery 100 Cherokee Road Florence, South Carolina 29501 Get Directions on Google Maps The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 15, 2019, at Waters-Powell Funeral Home.
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