Paul G. Hamilton
January 9, 1922 - April 2, 2007
Funeral services for Paul G. Hamilton,
85 of 519 North Jackson Street, Greene,
Iowa will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 6,
2007 at the First Presbyterian Church in
Greene with Pastor Paul Uzel officiating.
Military honors will be conducted by Tack
Barnett Post 268 American Legion of Greene,
Iowa. Entombment will be in Resthaven Mausoleum
in West Des Moines, IA.
Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Thursday, April
5, 2007, at Reid’s Funeral Chapel,
519 North First Street, in Greene, Iowa
where there will be a scripture and service
of remembrance at 7:30 p.m. Visitation will
continue at the church one hour before services.
Paul G. Hamilton was born January 9, 1922
in Greene, Iowa, son of George and Vera
(Shook) Hamilton and died April 2, 2007
at his home in Greene.
He received his education from the Greene
public schools graduating in 1939. He entered
the Modesto Junior College in Modesto, CA
graduating in 1942. That same year he started
as an apprentice embalmer for Moore’s
Funeral Home in Modesto. During this time
Betty Jean Nyght of Gowrie moved to Modesto
where she met Paul. They were married in
May 14, 1944.
Paul served in the 4141st AAF from 1943
to 1946, and following his honorable discharge
he attended San Francisco College of Embalming
graduating that following year. He worked
for several firms in California before returning
to Iowa in 1950 where he worked in Callendar,
Iowa. In 1952, Paul returned to Greene,
where he became associated with the Hann
Funeral Home until Mr. Hann’s death
in February 1955.
In May of 1955, along with Dale W. Ott,
Paul purchased the property at 519 North
First Street and opened the Greene Funeral
Chapel. They operated a furniture business
in conjunction with the funeral business.
Clair Weiss, long time friend and business
associate entered into a partnership in
1959. By 1961, Paul was operating funeral
homes in Greene, Marble Rock, Shell Rock
and Glenwood. In September of that year
he sold the funeral business to Andrew Reid.
Paul purchased the Lilly Funeral Home in
Des Moines and by 1966 having personally
acquired several other firms, no longer
was involved in mortuary duties and transitioned
his energies to management. That year he
founded International Funeral Services,
a publicly owned company designed to consolidate
funeral service. By 1981, the corporation
had grown to 130 mortuaries and cemeteries.
That same year the corporation merged with
Service Corporation International and Hamilton
began serving as the group’s Vice Chairman
and member of the Executive Committee and
Board of Directors.
In 1995 he created two other corporations:
FNCO Corp., a shopper publication, and HFSC
Hamilton Funeral Service Centers.
Paul was united in marriage to Jean Fight
on April 7, 1995 in Pauma Valley, CA. They
moved to Greene in October 2002 where Paul’s
life was centered around his family and
friends, golf and traveling.
Shortly after his retirement, Paul was
honored in 2005 with the Keystone Group
Holdings Lifetime Achievement award in recognition
of his distinguished career in funeral service
and his pioneering efforts in the realm
of funeral service and consolidation. “Many
members of Keystone’s senior leadership
were privileged to work with Paul over the
course of his 63 year career and certainly
all of us are the beneficiaries of both
his innovation and passion for funeral service,”
shares Bob Horn, Chairman and CEO of Keystone
Group Holdings.
Paul will be sadly missed by his loving
wife, Jean of Greene; and family members:
Pam (Larry) Johnson of LeMars, JoAnn (Don)
Smith of Clive, Jeffrey Fight of Redfield,
Jana (Bill) Krempasky of Denver, CO; four
grandchildren: Jon Paul (Susie) Smith of
Rocklin, CA, Jennifer Smith of Waukee, Paul
Laurence Johnson of Omaha, NE, Kerstin Johnson
of Denver, CO; five great grandchildren:
Cameron Smith, Lexie and Zoe Smith, Hannah
and Emily Johnson; one sister: Corrine Hamilton
of Burlington Ontario, Canada, one brother:
Don (Jann) Hamilton of San Marcos, CA; and
a sister-in-law: Jean (Henry) Vermillion
of El Cajon, CA.
He is preceded in death by his wife Betty
Jean (1993), his son: Paul George Hamilton
Jr. (1967), his parents, two brothers: Herb
and Robert, and two sisters: Patsy Hamilton
and Charlotte Formes.
Those planning an expression of sympathy
may direct memorials to the Paul G. Hamilton
Memorial Fund in care of the family:
P.O. Box 524, Greene, Iowa 50636-0524.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted
to Reid’s Funeral Chapel, 519 North
First Street, Greene, Iowa. Phone: 641-823-4457.
