Mary E. Hamilton's Obituary
In Loving Memory of
Mary Ellen Hamilton
1927 -2023
Mary Ellen (Lengauer) Hamilton, a mom full of love, kindness, strength, heart and never-ending faith, peacefully went to be with her Lord at the age of 95 on January 13.
Mom was the first born to Sara Kerr Lengauer Young and Paul Lengauer in Stoneboro, PA in 1927. When still a little girl, her family and her grandparents, Pearl Ross Kerr and David Callahan Kerr, moved to Rome, NY for work at the NY State School. As a young lady she left for Syracuse, NY and was hired by The Herald American newspaper as a bookkeeper in the advertising department and met her husband Hubert S. Hamilton, who was the evening newspaper distributor on the south side of Syracuse. They had three girls, who according to her pediatrician “were supposed to be boys.: Marilyn (Jim) Nickerson of Rochester, NY; Karen (Mark) Sammartino of Clover, SC; and Diana (Edward) Dunn of Liverpool, NY.
After living in the City of Syracuse they moved to a little cape cod house in Fairmount Hills and finally to the big house in Camillus. Mary Ellen was a devoted mother, sister, Republican and honorary Rotarian. During her life she worked many years full-time for the Town of Camillus as Deputy Tax Receiver and then as Deputy Tax Comptroller; as a widow she ran dad’s newspaper distributorship for several years, and finally, as the receptionist/greeter at the NYS Insurance Fund from where she retired after 19 years.
Over the years mom enjoyed her three girls, her four grandchildren [Jason (Shannon) Sammartino, Rebecca (Mike) Pearson, Kristin (Billy) White, and Jennifer Dunn] and her six great-granddaughters (Libby, Ella, and Hannah Pearson of North Carolina; Carter and Nora White of South Carolina; and Chloe Sammartino of Illinois). In addition to her nephews and nieces, she helped many who were stray and needed a place to stay for a short time.
Mom, a devoted friend and hard worker, was a Christian woman all her life and most recently a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Baldwinsville, NY. She supported her Churches in the various needs be it decoration, financial and fundraising events (e.g., ham dinners, bazaars, spaghetti dinner, Sunday church services) or visits with the shut-ins, especially during holidays. She always had her victory garden of tomatoes, green peppers, and flowers at home. Mary was never without her knitting, creating a continuous annual supply of mittens to the Christmas Board interspersed with baby hats and sweater sets. Nothing kept her down for long and never one to complain.
An Eastern Star member for decades, mom was elected to the position of Matron six times and at least as many times in all the positions of the star. As a Grand Representative to New Hampshire, Mary Ellen traveled all over the Northern Eastern United States for official Eastern Star events and regularly drove to visit elder members at the Eastern Star Home in Oriskany, NY.
Mom is predeceased by her loving husband Hubert S. Hamilton, her mother Sara Lengauer Young, her father Paul Lengauer, her brother David Lengauer, her four sisters-in-law, and her grandparents. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and several cousins still living in Stoneboro, PA.
Mom’s viewing will be at the Thomas J Pirro Jr Funeral Home on Friday, January 20 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. Her celebration of life will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Baldwinsville, 64 Oswego Street, Baldwinsville, NY 13027 starting at 10:00am. She will be buried beside her beloved and long missed husband in Belle Isle Cemetery in Warners. Friends and family may honor mom’s memory with a donation to Hospice of Syracuse or Eastern Star Home in Oriskany, NY.
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