Robert Hamilton

Robert Eugene Hamilton

“Bob”, “W8WSL – Amateur Radio Call Sign”, “Big Ape”, “Billie Joe”

Bob Hamilton, 77, currently of Girard PA passed away on January 25^th, 2024, at the Erie VA Medical Center Hospice surrounded by his wife Mary Hamilton and son Everett Hamilton.  Bob passed away after a long battle with metastasized bladder cancer.

Bob was born on December 27, 1946, in Fairmont West Virginia. Bob is a son, husband, brother, father, grandfather, and friend.  He is the son of late William Hamilton, Sr. and late Wilma Maxine “Billingsly” Hamilton from Farmington, WV. Bob has a surviving brother, Willam Hamilton, Jr of Sistersville WV and has many nieces and nephews.  Bob grew up in his hometown of Farmington West Virginia and then eventually graduated as part of the Class of 1965 from Sistersville High School.

After high school graduation, Bob enlisted in the United States Air Force, 1967-1971.  After basic training he served overseas at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand.   He served as a Staff Sergeant working as an electronic countermeasure warrant officer. While on one of many target marking missions sitting in the back of a F-105 aircraft, the plane was struck by enemy fire and crash landed.  Both Bob and the pilot survived and were rescued and returned to an air craft carrier for medical treatment.  Upon coming back from Thailand, Bob received the AF Commendation Medal for his emeritus service while in Thailand. He served his remaining time in the AF at Stewart AFB Aerospace Defense Command in Newburg NY. He was honorably discharged in 1971.

After being discharged, Bob worked for General Dynamics, Kodak, and Xerox in Rochester NY.  A highlight of his work while at Kodak was working on the lenses for the cameras that flew on the Apollo Missions to the moon. His name is on the back of one of the Apollo moon landing camera lenses.  While at Xerox, he worked the first design of the flexible photoreceptor for the Xerox machine.  Bob worked evening jobs at Wegmans and Pizza Hut to earn extra money for attending college.

Bob then moved back to West Virginia to attend college at West Virginia University for Electrical Engineering.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from WVU in 1976. He then worked as an electrical engineer for American Chain and Cable in Frederick MD until 1977.  Eventually, Bob worked for Mine Safety Appliance in Braddock PA and moved to Union Switch and Signal in Pittsburgh PA as a senior research engineer until 1986. He then moved to Erie PA to work at PENELEC/GPU/First Energy initially as a senior electrical analyst then as a senior planner and customer service representative for local distribution where he retired in 2009.  Bob was IEEE Chairman for the Erie Section.  He earned awards for IEEE Member of the year and Customer Service Excellence Award.

While growing up in Farmington WV his love of electronics started at an early age by stringing wires around his parents’ house to the dismay of his mother.   He eventually built his own AM radio and wired the sounds systems for the public address systems in his high school.   While in Thailand for the AF, he designed one of the first missile warning systems for the F-111 aircraft and worked the terrain following radar for the F-111 that he maintained for the pilots.  His love for electrical and electronic systems was readily visible in his professional work where he got several patents, created sensor systems for trains that eventually replaced the caboose on trains.  He planned the large substation for the locomotive complex that is used by General Electric in Erie PA. Outside of work he had many home projects that wired houses, built/repaired radios, set up generators for emergency home outages.   He set up at home science projects to detect neutrinos that bombard earth from outer space which eventually got the attention from US government sponsored laboratories where he shared his data for some of their studies and analyses.  He served as a volunteer for the setup and operations of Erie West County Emergency Operation Center in Girard Township. He also helped to set up electrical systems at the Albion County Fairgrounds.  

One of his later passions up until his passing was his work with amateur radio and teaching others about it.  He spoke to many stations around the world regularly.  He had his Extra license.  When he when to take his test for amateur license he aced all three tests in the first attempt to get the highest-level license.  He also loved to work with devising technologies based on string theory and working the Hamiltonian equations to determine the total energy of many systems.  Even as he laid in hospice, he was talking out equations and wondering what he was missing in those calculations.  

Bob also loved to teach others about electronics. He would say “electricity is just like water flowing through pipes” and would be able to explain a complex topic into simple terms so those who are learning could understand easily.   He helped build robots with students at McDowel High School and taught under graduate/graduate level classes and Penn State Behrend.

Bob also loved the outdoors.  Growing up in West Virginia. Bob spent many weekends and summers running the hills in central WV near Canaan Valley and Black Water Falls. His father had a camper in Bowden WV near Elkins where he spent loads of time fishing with his dad and uncle Ken.  He loved spending hours roaming and mowing the fields on the property in Girard.

Bob met the love of his life, Mary Lou “Metz” Hamilton, from Arvilla, West Virginia in 1964.  She is the daughter of late Bert David Metz and surviving Emma Ruth “Smith” Metz from Friendly WV.  They dated in high school and then got married in 1968 after returned from his overseas duty in the AF.  After they were married, they lived in Newburgh, NY, Rochester NY, Farmington WV, Frederick MD, Holiday Park PA, Delmont PA, and currently in Girard PA.   While in Rochester NY, they had a son, Everett Allen Hamilton. Everett was named after one of Bob’s mentors, Everett Meredith of Pursley, WV.  Everett is married now, and Bob and Mary have a daughter-in-law, Sarah Hamilton.  They live in Colorado with Bob and Mary’s granddaughters, Addison, 12 and Hazel, 10.  Sarah and Everett both work as aerospace engineers.  

Mary is a professional artist with many works of art in businesses around Erie, the state of Pennsylvania, and the country.  Bob and Mary are the epitome of a loving couple.  Their love and support of one another made them both excel in their personal and professional pursuits.

Bob will be greatly missed by his friends and family.  Bob was always available to help out. He was always the “go-to” person for help with a simple electrical issue or how to design electrical tools for use in art projects.  He shared potential recommendations on how to use a transformer from a microwave oven to create artistic designs in wood.  He had very diverse interests from math, science, physics, playing with his granddaughters, to the patience of a saint while waiting for fish to bite.  He captivated anyone who would listen. His deep conversations of time concepts, energy transfer, multiple dimensions, imaginary numbers and their use will be greatly missed. Throughout his life, he saluted the US Flag every time he passed one.

Friends may call at Burton Funeral Home, 525 Main Street East, Girard on Saturday February 3^rd from 12:00pm until the time of service at 3:00pm.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Erie VA Medical Center in honor of Bob Hamilton.