GARY D. HAMILTON
Gary D. Hamilton, loving father and grandfather, passed away Friday, May 8, 2026 at the age of 81 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Gary was born on March 22, 1945, the son of Edward and Mary Smith Hamilton in Trenton, MO.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Jerry Elaine Fairley, wife, Carol Leith George, and daughter, Jennifer Leith Lancaster.
He is survived by son, Jared Hamilton, of North Webster, IN, grandson and granddaughter, Owen Thomas and Kinsey Leith Lancaster and son-in-law Matt Lancaster of Las Vegas NV, sister, Beverly Worl of Kansas City, MO, and Charlotte Henry Koenigsdorf his cherished partner and travel companion of 20 years who filled his life with joy and happiness.
A graduate of the University of Missouri, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He began his career as an Internal Auditor for United Utilities and continued for 30 years in various positions within United and subsidiary companies. In 1982, he was named Controller for United Telephone Company of Indiana and in 1990, Treasurer/ Assistant Secretary for United Telephone Company of Ohio. During this time, he became a member of the Nationial Treasurer Association as a Certified Cash Manager.
In 1998, he moved to Mebane, North Carolina as Director of Decision Support for Madison River Communication and, in 1999, was named President of Gallatin River Communications in Galesburg, Illinois. In 2005 he retired and moved to Las Vegas.
He loved playing golf, reading, playing cards, games, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, and traveling. He had visited 34 of the contiguous states and Hawaii. While traveling through France, he visited many historical sites in Paris as well as the Normandy beaches and Monte Carlo.
He visited Australia and “snuba” dived in the Great Barrier Reef then traveled on to New Zealand and the Fiji Islands. On a safari to Africa, the first stop was Switzerland then on to Tanzania. Later that year, it was a visit to Quebec, Canada for a dog sledding excursion.
He loved poetry and could recite Old Ironside, The Road Not Taken, A Bag of Tools, The Village Blacksmith, Trees, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. He wrote a poem titled “A Pair of Shoes” dedicated to Charlotte.
A Celebration of Life will be held on June 2, 2026, at 10:00 am at Colonial Presbyterian Church 9500 Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Judes Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Interment Walnut Ridge Cemetery, Fayette, MO at a later date.
