Thomas R. Hamilton, 76, of Warren, passed away Saturday, May 29, 2021 at Henry Ford Health System – Macomb. Tom was born on January 1, 1945 to the late Ralph C. and Grace V. (Garrity) Hamilton of Alger.
1. He graduated from the Standish-Sterling High School in Standish in 1963 and attended Michigan Technological University until 1964, when he was drafted into the United States Army.
In 1965, Tom met his future wife, Susan M. Reynolds at a U.S.O dance in Fort Dix, New Jersey during basic training for the 101st Airborne Division. Susan was serving as a member of those troops stationed in Fort Dix who were sent to entertain the troops in training before they were shipped off to Vietnam near end of the war to free South Vietnam from North Vietnamese Communist control.
2. After leaving the Army in 1967, Tom went to work at General Motors Fisher Body Division and was later assigned to the Chevrolet Gear and Axle facility in Redford, where he worked for over thirty years. While at GM he was a member of UAW Local 651.
3. Tom’s passion for music started very early on in his life and continued until his passing. He played guitar (mostly rock), drums (mostly hard rock) and sang (mostly songs he had written). He played in many bands over the years and always wanted to be a professional musician.
4. Tom was a long time collector of guitars, drums and other musical equipment. He especially liked to collect keyboards, especially synthesizers.
5. Tom was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #9389 and the American Legion Post #612 in Redford until moving to Warren in 2010.
6. Tom always wanted to be a stand-up comedian and his sense of humor is what everyone remembers most about him (in addition to the music).
7. A passionate member of the Republican Party, Tom took great pride in being an elected delegate for George W. Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended all four days with his wife Susan and son Thomas R. Jr..
8. Tom loved sports, although he never played them. He was a Detroit Tigers fan, especially following the Tigers from the time they moved from Kansas City to Detroit in 1968 until he retired from GM in 1984 and thereafter. He even named his dog “Edmonds” after an all-time favorite Tiger pitcher who won the World Series in 1984 and eventually passed away tragically on New Year’s Eve 2003, some 30 years after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS).
9. Tom was a Detroit Lions fan and went to most of the home games with his wife Susan, son Thomas R. Jr., daughter-in-law Chris, son Thomas R. III, grandson Matthew, great grandson Wyatt and his wife Cindy.
10. Tom loved playing golf for most of his life and played in many tournaments with friends in Warren, Redford and Detroit (mostly on Michigan Golf Club on Beech Daly Rd.). He also played for many years at Redford Hills Golf Club until the age of 80 when he decided it was time to retire from the game.
11. Tom was a very good cook, especially for Chinese food. If he wasn’t working, he would prepare Chinese food for his family to eat.
12. Tom loved to have a good time, especially at parties and social gatherings of all kinds. He also had a special fondness for Irish music and played the piano/keyboard for many years until he finally decided to retire from the hobby at age 80. He was an avid Irish dancer.
13. One of the last things Tom did before his passing was make a video recording of how to use an electronic typewriter using the software available at http://www.dickproenneke.com/typewriter.html
14. Tom had a love of aviation and liked to attend air shows whenever he could. He had a special fondness for Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft and always had a soft spot for the Cessna T-50 Bobcat, which was used by his very dear friend Mike Ritz in his successful attempt to set the world record in endurance flying .
15. Tom was also passionate about politics, especially the Republican Party and politics in Michigan. He kept up with current events and often posted comments on Warren Patch .
16. Tom was a member of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Auxiliary from 1977 to 1985 and a member of the V.F.W. Auxiliary in Redford, where he was an elected delegate for Gerald Ford at the Republican National Convention held in Kansas City in 1976.
16. As children and grandchildren came along, Tom took a special interest in them and often spent time with them doing things that he did as a child at his grandparents’ house on Alger Road, which he always said was the most important place to him growing up because it was the place that gave him his love for music (his maternal grandmother, Augusta Garrity “Gussie” Richmond, loved all kinds of music and she especially liked singing).
