Palestine High School Alumni Association

01 / 16 / 1910  –  04 / 14 / 2000

Services for Lester Hamilton, 90, of Palestine, will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church with Rev. Mike Glenn officiating.

Mr. Hamilton died Friday April 14, 2000 at Palestine Regional Medical Center.

He was born January 16, 1910, in Palestine to William Mark and Auba Elizabeth Markham Hamilton. He was a 1928 graduate of Palestine High School and attended the University of Texas where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Mr. Hamilton was the former owner of the Palestine Herald-Press. He served as a Major in the Army Air Corps during WWII and was a Vestryman of St. Phillip’s.

Mr. Hamilton was the director and president of the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority, two-time president of Palestine Chamber of Commerce, director of Palestine Industrial Foundation, and director of Cartmell Memorial Home.

As a young boy, he enjoyed riding his horse through what is now Davey Dogwood Park. Inspired by the beauty of the dogwood, he later recruited two of his friends to co-form the Dogwood Trails.

Mr. Hamilton is survived by his wife, Frances E. Hamilton of Palestine; daughter, Frances Oates of Landenberg, Pa.; sons, Wiliam Mark Hamilton of Austin, and Lee Edmunds Hamilton of Houston; and two grandchildren.

Source: Palestine Herald-Press 04-15-2000