Robert L. Hamilton

Many of us were lucky enough to share our lives with the beloved, iconic Bob Hamilton. Like a superb wine, he was complex, well-balanced, bold, improved with age, deep-rooted, memorable, and naturally smooth. Bob brought out incredible joy, laughter, and warmth with his family and friends, and he taught us that life should always be savored and enjoyed to the fullest.

Robert Lee Hamilton was born on August 19, 1938, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He lived a legendary story of adventure, leadership, and service. His parents, Leo and Evelyn Hamilton raised Bob and his two sisters, Connie and Mary Ann, in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Growing up, Bob would go hunting with his father, uncles, and cousin in the mountains of Pennsylvania, where they would hunker down in a rustic cabin with no electricity or amenities. Leo was vice-president at the Downingtown Paper Box Company in addition to being the Mayor of Downingtown. Evelyn was a highly respected Latin and English teacher. Together, Leo and Evelyn taught their children the value of respect, hard work, commitment, kindness, love, and proper grammar!

At Downingtown High School, Bob was a letterman in several sports. He even got to play head-to-head (or perhaps, head-to-shoulder) with Wilt Chamberlain. In 1956, Bob graduated and moved on to the University of Virginia, his alma mater. There, he met many of his life-long friends in the Sigma Nu Fraternity. He was gregarious, well-respected, and eventually elected to be the treasurer and social chairman of the fraternity. Bob also completed his officer training in the US Army ROTC and was commissioned as a Lieutenant while studying at UVA. Coming from a long line of Hamilton veterans, it was an honor to continue in his family’s tradition of service.

After his duty in the Army, Bob started his career path working for the Kodak company in Rochester, New York. During this time, he became a top salesman in addition to learning to love the art of photography. Kodak even entrusted him with the task of being their representative at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Bob was among the first to ride up to the top of the Space Needle, and he even met Elvis Presley, who needed a roll of film developed, while shooting the musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the World’s Fair.

After the exposition, Kodak moved Bob to South Bend, where he continued to thrive and demonstrate his strong leadership as their Consumer Market Sales Representative. In 1964, Kodak asked Bob to help them in their Minneapolis region. However, another local photography company made him a better offer, allowing Bob to stay in South Bend, a city which became home and where he started his family.

Several years later, Bob partnered with a small group of friends to establish Travelmore, a local travel agency, with Bob serving as President. Now it was Bob’s turn to show his own children the life lessons of taking a chance, starting from scratch, and trusting in one’s ability to be successful. Bob had a special bond with his son and daughter, Guy (named after Bob’s favorite uncle) and Caroline, both of whom went on to become leaders in their careers, always at the ready for new challenges. Bob’s leadership, hard work, and vision yielded great success. He eventually became the sole owner of Travelmore which became one of the largest travel agencies in Indiana.

It was also through Travelmore that Bob was lucky enough to cross paths with Gina Capannari, a talented representative for American Airlines. They fell fast in love and were married on January 2nd, 1993, an easy date for Bob to remember: 1/2/3. Although Bob and Gina had a jet-set life together, they were both grounded in the importance of family and the gift of sharing time together and with their loved ones. It didn’t matter whether they were in Tuscany, on a cruise with their best friends, in Cincinnati with the tight-knit Capannari clan, cooking dinners in Seattle with Guy, Caroline and their families, working with their Travelmore team in South Bend, or quietly doing crosswords in their South Carolina home - knowing that they had love, laughter and each other was all that Bob and Gina needed. They were unquestionably devoted to each other. They built a life full of strong family ties and loving friendships. Bob’s friends were friends for life.

Bob had been an avid golfer and a member of South Bend Country Club for almost five decades. He was loved by all and was the club president for several of those years. Bob’s wit and humor accorded him a special place at the “Goose and Duck Luncheon” each December. His scripts were “spot on”, typically poking fun at current events. Friends at the club often commented that Bob was one of their best speakers and delivered his punch lines with precision! On Mondays, Bob looked forward to meet “the boys” for lunch to catch up on the latest South Bend news and his weekly dinner with good friends was an added highlight.

Nineteen years ago, Bob was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and given five years to live. If you just did the math in your head, you discovered that Bob and Gina refused to accept that prediction. They were both fighters, and with each other’s support, Bob and Gina found a team of doctors in Seattle that gave them many more happy years to come. They kept the Travelmore business going for 47 years and sold the company in 2017. Knowing their employee’s jobs were secure they were now looking forward to their “real retirement” together. Bob and Gina loved each other unconditionally, deeply, and joyfully through sickness and in health until the end.

Robert Lee Hamilton died on Sunday, April 15, 2018 with Gina and family by his side. Bob knew there were significant risks involved when he elected to have open heart surgery in February. However, weighing out the certainty that his condition was going to slowly make it harder to live out the type of life he wanted, Bob knew it was worth taking that chance. Just like his battle with cancer, he was unwilling to just wait around and accept the most likely outcome. Bob was a fighter, and, in a way, he died because he knew how he wanted to live.

His life story ended sooner than we were ready, but it is a story that we, as his family and friends, will continue to cherish and admire. Bob lived by the honor code written by Thomas Jefferson for all students at the University of Virginia: “Don’t lie, cheat or steal.” He was a gentleman, always.

Surviving Bob are his loving wife Gina; son Dr. Thomas Guy Hamilton (Aurora de la Cruz); daughter Caroline Hamilton (Jim Pidgeon); grandson Oliver Hamilton; sister Mary Ann Snyder (Earl); mother-in-law, Mary Capannari; brothers-in-law, Don Capannari (Linda), Dr. Tom Capannari (Lori), Greg Capannari (Cindy), David Capannari (Jennifer) Joe Capannari (Lisa), John Capannari (Meg), Ed Capannari (Martha), Jim Capannari (Meg); sisters-in-law, Mary Wietmarschen (Tom), Patricia Capannari, Jane Capannari, Angela Miller (Mark); many, many loving nieces and nephews, and a host of “best buds.” Bob was preceded in death by his sister, Constance (Ronnie) Brown.

Memorial visitation for Bob will be held from 1:00-5:00p.m. on Saturday, April 28th at Palmer Funeral Home—Hickey Chapel, 17131 Cleveland Road, South Bend, IN. A memorial service for Bob will be held at 1:00p.m. on Sunday, April 29th at the South Bend Country Club, 25800 Country Club Drive, South Bend, IN 46619.

As a prostate cancer survivor, diagnosed with Stage 4 almost 19 years ago, Bob credits his survival to those at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. In lieu of flowers, please find it in your heart to donate to the “UW Prostate Cancer Fund #65-7701” in honor of Robert (Bob) Hamilton, and mail your gift to: Martha Lee, c/o Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, 825 Eastlake Ave. E., G-4830, Seattle, WA 98109.

And finally, if you have a bottle of fine wine (or even a few drops of “Doctor Dewars”), please drink a toast at some point this week to our dearly loved and legendary friend, Bob Hamilton. Cheers to a life well-lived! May we all continue to draw from his courage for adventure, love of laughter, deep sense of honor, and love. His story will always shine brightly in our hearts.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.