Gay Hamilton

PHILADELPHIA - G. Gay Hamilton, a proud husband, father, grandfather, entrepreneur, military veteran and lifelong supporter of the Boy Scouts whose career in hospital administration spanned 25 years, died September 5, 2023 at his home in Philadelphia, TN. Gay, age 82, was born December 28, 1940 in Chattanooga, TN to Cecil Leland Hamilton and Virginia Rhea Hamilton Owens. He joined the Tennessee Air National Guard in 1959 and served during the Berlin Crisis of 1961, a defining moment of the Cold War. After his military service, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Management at Tusculum University. Both degrees prepared him for his career in hospital administration which began in 1971 at Loudon County Memorial Hospital. For the next 25 years, Gay managed several rural hospitals in the Southeast, including Fannin County Regional Hospital in Blue Ridge, GA; Johnson County Memorial Hospital in Mountain City, TN; District Memorial Hospital in Andrews, NC; and Buchanan General Hospital in Grundy, VA. He retired from executive management in hospital administration in 1995 and began a career as a business management consultant focused on healthcare and residential property development. He also managed a newspaper route for USA Today in Loudon and surrounding counties, which brought him full circle as his first job as a teenager was delivering the local newspaper in Lenoir City, TN. Gay’s relationship with Christ began at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lenoir City. He was a member of Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Loudon and also attended Corinth Baptist Church of Loudon. Gay was affiliated with the American College of Healthcare Executives, the MidEast Tennessee Hospital Council, the Rotary Club of Lenoir City and the Eagle Scout Advancement Committee of the Sequoyah Council Boy Scouts of America. In addition to his parents, Gay was preceded in death by his step-grandmother, Emma Nichols Patty; stepmother, Margie Hamilton; and his oldest grandson, Tyler Harrison Hamm. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Linda Arp-Hamilton; sister Edna Hamilton of Gainesville, FL; daughter Deborah (Tracy) Hamm of Charlotte, NC; son Cecil (Brenda) Hamilton of Jonesborough, TN; daughter Stella Hamilton of Greenback, TN; daughter Alecia Arp of Madisonville, TN; and grandson Dylan Hamm of Sunset Beach, NC. If you desire, memorial contributions may be made to the Tyler H. Hamm Culinary Scholarship at Central Piedmont Community College, P.O. Box 35009, Charlotte, NC 28235 or online at www.cpccfoundation.org/hamm-scholarship. Or to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or online at www.stjude. org. Services honoring and remembering Gay Hamilton will be held 7:00 PM Friday, September 8, 2023 in the McGill Click Chapel with Rev. Mark Hester and Rev. Adam Cook officiating. Military honors will be provided by the US Air Force and the Loudon County Veterans Honor Guard. The family will receive friends 5:00 – 7:00 PM prior to the service at McGill Click Funerals & Cremations, 1366 Hwy 72 N, Loudon. Online condolences may be left at www.mcgillclick.com.