Bill Hamilton

CLEVELAND — William “Bill” Maddux Hamilton Sr., 70, passed away on July 16, 2019. He was born on Dec. 1, 1948, in Bradley County to the late Creed Lawrence Hamilton and Florence Maddux Hamilton. Bill was a 6th Generation Bradley Countian and was very proud and fascinated with his Ancestry, one of his most enjoyable hobbies in recent years. He loved researching prior generations and even spent much of his time marking unmarked graves of many of his ancestors. Bill had a tremendous heart and his generosity was evident in all areas of his life. He gave trust freely and was a servant leader. This generous spirit was evident in the many ways he was active as a volunteer and leader in this community. He served as the treasurer for the local Benjamin Cleveland Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, a group where he also received the highly esteemed Stanley Evans Award. Bill was also very active as a former representative for the second district of the Bradley County Board of Education, where he served for 10 years and was extremely instrumental in the construction of Walker Valley High School. He was also a former Army Reservist and a member of the B Company 844th Engineer Battalion. Bill was a faithful man of God and very active in his church at First Baptist Cleveland, where he also gave freely as a past President, Vice President, and Treasurer of Beecher Hunter’s Sunday School Class. In addition to many of his philanthropic efforts, Bill was a very successful entrepreneur with many different ventures throughout his career. He was a tremendous visionary and “Big Picture” thinker. While Bill will be remembered for many of the things he did, his pride and joy were his family and supporting all their endeavors, most recently his grandchildren. Bill was each of his grandchildren’s “Biggest Fan.” He loved nothing more than spending time at their ball games and being in the stands cheering them on. He was a tremendous husband, father, grandfather, and brother who was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. In addition to his mother and father, he was preceded in death by three brothers, Jackie Hamilton, Loye Hamilton, and Carl Hamilton. He leaves behind to cherish his memory his loving wife of 50 years, Debra Childrey Hamilton; two sons: William Maddux “Matt” Hamilton Jr., and his wife Kelly and their children: William Maddux “Trey” Hamilton III and Drew McArthur Hamilton, Brad Richard Hamilton and his wife Shannon and their children: Jordan Reese Hamilton and Morgan Ramsey Hamilton; daughter Wendy Hamilton Martin and her husband Jason and their children: Hamilton Russell Martin and Richard Maddux Martin; sisters: Frances Pierce, Joye Goodner (Jim), and Juanita Eldridge; brother and sister in laws: Tim and Janet Childrey, Sharon Hamilton, and Ann Hamilton. In addition to these, Bill leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family members and friends. The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday July 20, 2019, at First Baptist Church located at 1275 Stuart Road, Cleveland, TN 37312. A celebration of life service will follow the visitation at 4 p.m. Interment will follow the service at Sunset Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund. You are invited to share a personal memory of Bill or your condolences with his family at his online memorial located at www.companionfunerals.com. Companion Funeral and Cremation Service and the Cody family are honored to assist the Hamilton family with these arrangements.