Images of Missy Hamilton filled the hearts of an entire room.
There she was dancing in a boat, dressed as a scarecrow for Halloween, lying on the beach, smiling in selfies with her boys, and, yes, vacuuming the ceiling.
A woman known for her raspy voice, her love of gag gifts and her enduring empathy, Hamilton was remembered Saturday in a celebration of life that drew more than 500 people to the Boys and Girls Club of Smyrna.
Hamilton, a wife and mother of two, worked as a counselor who provided domestic violence, alcohol and drug therapy. She fought addiction herself before dedicating her life to others and to God.
"She found hope," Christ Life Community Pastor Scott Hord said. "And she took that hope out into the world."
Hamilton had battled her demons and she had won. She used her own struggles with drugs and her time in jail to inform her work.
When her final probation ended in 2011, she enrolled at Argosy University Nashville where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in psychology specializing in substance abuse. She chose to work with those undergoing court-ordered counseling.
"She knew sometimes the true difference for someone struggling was just to have someone else understand them," her sister-in-law Jamie Eastland said. "... She was proof that rock bottom can make you stronger and wiser than mountaintops ever will."
Hamilton had been clean for 11 years. She died trying to help others do the same.
She spent her final hours talking to people in crisis at Crossroads Counseling. Hamilton had finished a group session when she was killed.
The crime left her family feeling shock, disbelief, devastation, anger and loss.
On Saturday, her husband, Jack, her sons Patrick and Dalton, and all those who knew and loved her, remembered the joy Hamilton brought into the world.
She was a woman who loved to talk, especially to God. She loved to laugh, too, and to eat sweets. She always had a stash of Red Bull and Nerd ropes in her purse.
She wasn't the best at geography or history, but she was brilliant when it came to understanding emotions. Each word she spoke was useful and essential, her 22-year-old son, Patrick, said.
She was humble and a true empath. A person who did not just listen to a person's words, but to their subtle facial expressions. And to their silence.
She saw everything a person didn't say, her sister in law said.
And she was beyond in love with her sons.
When 16-year-old Dalton Hamilton remembers his mom, he thinks of the two greatest lessons she taught him.
"Humility," he said. "And to love one another."
Missy Hamilton's family members have set up an education fund for her 16-year-old son, Dalton Hamilton.
Steve McGill, Hamilton's cousin, created a GoFundMe page on Tuesday.
Hamilton is also survived by her husband, Jack Hamilton, and their other son, Patrick Hamilton, who is 22.
Source: The Tennessean.com 12.1.4.2019 edition
There she was dancing in a boat, dressed as a scarecrow for Halloween, lying on the beach, smiling in selfies with her boys, and, yes, vacuuming the ceiling.
A woman known for her raspy voice, her love of gag gifts and her enduring empathy, Hamilton was remembered Saturday in a celebration of life that drew more than 500 people to the Boys and Girls Club of Smyrna.
Hamilton, a wife and mother of two, worked as a counselor who provided domestic violence, alcohol and drug therapy. She fought addiction herself before dedicating her life to others and to God.
"She found hope," Christ Life Community Pastor Scott Hord said. "And she took that hope out into the world."
Hamilton had battled her demons and she had won. She used her own struggles with drugs and her time in jail to inform her work.
When her final probation ended in 2011, she enrolled at Argosy University Nashville where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in psychology specializing in substance abuse. She chose to work with those undergoing court-ordered counseling.
"She knew sometimes the true difference for someone struggling was just to have someone else understand them," her sister-in-law Jamie Eastland said. "... She was proof that rock bottom can make you stronger and wiser than mountaintops ever will."
Hamilton had been clean for 11 years. She died trying to help others do the same.
She spent her final hours talking to people in crisis at Crossroads Counseling. Hamilton had finished a group session when she was killed.
The crime left her family feeling shock, disbelief, devastation, anger and loss.
On Saturday, her husband, Jack, her sons Patrick and Dalton, and all those who knew and loved her, remembered the joy Hamilton brought into the world.
She was a woman who loved to talk, especially to God. She loved to laugh, too, and to eat sweets. She always had a stash of Red Bull and Nerd ropes in her purse.
She wasn't the best at geography or history, but she was brilliant when it came to understanding emotions. Each word she spoke was useful and essential, her 22-year-old son, Patrick, said.
She was humble and a true empath. A person who did not just listen to a person's words, but to their subtle facial expressions. And to their silence.
She saw everything a person didn't say, her sister in law said.
And she was beyond in love with her sons.
When 16-year-old Dalton Hamilton remembers his mom, he thinks of the two greatest lessons she taught him.
"Humility," he said. "And to love one another."
Missy Hamilton's family members have set up an education fund for her 16-year-old son, Dalton Hamilton.
Steve McGill, Hamilton's cousin, created a GoFundMe page on Tuesday.
Hamilton is also survived by her husband, Jack Hamilton, and their other son, Patrick Hamilton, who is 22.
Source: The Tennessean.com 12.1.4.2019 edition
Images of Missy Hamilton filled the hearts of an entire room.
There she was dancing in a boat, dressed as a scarecrow for Halloween, lying on the beach, smiling in selfies with her boys, and, yes, vacuuming the ceiling.
A woman known for her raspy voice, her love of gag gifts and her enduring empathy, Hamilton was remembered Saturday in a celebration of life that drew more than 500 people to the Boys and Girls Club of Smyrna.
Hamilton, a wife and mother of two, worked as a counselor who provided domestic violence, alcohol and drug therapy. She fought addiction herself before dedicating her life to others and to God.
"She found hope," Christ Life Community Pastor Scott Hord said. "And she took that hope out into the world."
Hamilton had battled her demons and she had won. She used her own struggles with drugs and her time in jail to inform her work.
When her final probation ended in 2011, she enrolled at Argosy University Nashville where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in psychology specializing in substance abuse. She chose to work with those undergoing court-ordered counseling.
"She knew sometimes the true difference for someone struggling was just to have someone else understand them," her sister-in-law Jamie Eastland said. "... She was proof that rock bottom can make you stronger and wiser than mountaintops ever will."
Hamilton had been clean for 11 years. She died trying to help others do the same.
She spent her final hours talking to people in crisis at Crossroads Counseling. Hamilton had finished a group session when she was killed.
The crime left her family feeling shock, disbelief, devastation, anger and loss.
On Saturday, her husband, Jack, her sons Patrick and Dalton, and all those who knew and loved her, remembered the joy Hamilton brought into the world.
She was a woman who loved to talk, especially to God. She loved to laugh, too, and to eat sweets. She always had a stash of Red Bull and Nerd ropes in her purse.
She wasn't the best at geography or history, but she was brilliant when it came to understanding emotions. Each word she spoke was useful and essential, her 22-year-old son, Patrick, said.
She was humble and a true empath. A person who did not just listen to a person's words, but to their subtle facial expressions. And to their silence.
She saw everything a person didn't say, her sister in law said.
And she was beyond in love with her sons.
When 16-year-old Dalton Hamilton remembers his mom, he thinks of the two greatest lessons she taught him.
"Humility," he said. "And to love one another."
Missy Hamilton's family members have set up an education fund for her 16-year-old son, Dalton Hamilton.
Steve McGill, Hamilton's cousin, created a GoFundMe page on Tuesday.
Hamilton is also survived by her husband, Jack Hamilton, and their other son, Patrick Hamilton, who is 22.
Source: The Tennessean.com 12.1.4.2019 edition
There she was dancing in a boat, dressed as a scarecrow for Halloween, lying on the beach, smiling in selfies with her boys, and, yes, vacuuming the ceiling.
A woman known for her raspy voice, her love of gag gifts and her enduring empathy, Hamilton was remembered Saturday in a celebration of life that drew more than 500 people to the Boys and Girls Club of Smyrna.
Hamilton, a wife and mother of two, worked as a counselor who provided domestic violence, alcohol and drug therapy. She fought addiction herself before dedicating her life to others and to God.
"She found hope," Christ Life Community Pastor Scott Hord said. "And she took that hope out into the world."
Hamilton had battled her demons and she had won. She used her own struggles with drugs and her time in jail to inform her work.
When her final probation ended in 2011, she enrolled at Argosy University Nashville where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in psychology specializing in substance abuse. She chose to work with those undergoing court-ordered counseling.
"She knew sometimes the true difference for someone struggling was just to have someone else understand them," her sister-in-law Jamie Eastland said. "... She was proof that rock bottom can make you stronger and wiser than mountaintops ever will."
Hamilton had been clean for 11 years. She died trying to help others do the same.
She spent her final hours talking to people in crisis at Crossroads Counseling. Hamilton had finished a group session when she was killed.
The crime left her family feeling shock, disbelief, devastation, anger and loss.
On Saturday, her husband, Jack, her sons Patrick and Dalton, and all those who knew and loved her, remembered the joy Hamilton brought into the world.
She was a woman who loved to talk, especially to God. She loved to laugh, too, and to eat sweets. She always had a stash of Red Bull and Nerd ropes in her purse.
She wasn't the best at geography or history, but she was brilliant when it came to understanding emotions. Each word she spoke was useful and essential, her 22-year-old son, Patrick, said.
She was humble and a true empath. A person who did not just listen to a person's words, but to their subtle facial expressions. And to their silence.
She saw everything a person didn't say, her sister in law said.
And she was beyond in love with her sons.
When 16-year-old Dalton Hamilton remembers his mom, he thinks of the two greatest lessons she taught him.
"Humility," he said. "And to love one another."
Missy Hamilton's family members have set up an education fund for her 16-year-old son, Dalton Hamilton.
Steve McGill, Hamilton's cousin, created a GoFundMe page on Tuesday.
Hamilton is also survived by her husband, Jack Hamilton, and their other son, Patrick Hamilton, who is 22.
Source: The Tennessean.com 12.1.4.2019 edition
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