Deforrest Hamilton

Orville Deforrest Hamilton, 97, of Washington died at 2:25 a.m. Monday, October 27, 2014, at Washington Christian Village. Deforrest was born in Roseville, Illinois, on April 14, 1917, to Orville and Mabel Watson Hamilton. He graduated from Roseville Township High School in 1935 and from Eureka College in 1939. While a student at the college, he met Margaret Imhoff of Eureka, Illinois; they were married on June 9, 1940. After graduation, Deforrest served as principal and teacher at Youngstown High School and later at Spring Bay High School. During the early years of World War II, he taught gyro-driven aircraft instrumentation at the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois, and was an instructor at Indiana Technical College. In 1943 he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy and attended the Naval Navigation School in Hollywood, Florida. After promotion to lieutenant (j.g.), he was stationed at Chase Field in Beeville, Texas, where he taught aerial navigation. Following the war, Deforrest moved to Centralia, Illinois, where he worked as a vocational training officer for the Veterans Administration. He then started a career in banking that spanned many years and included positions in Centralia, Galesburg, and Washington. He joined the First National Bank in Washington as cashier in 1965 and retired as senior vice president in 1983. Deforrest was active in many organizations, including the National Association of Bank Auditors and Controllers, Washington Civic Association, and Washington Emergency Services and Disaster Agency. He was past president of the Eureka College Alumni Association, a member of the board of directors of TCM International, and an elder at Washington Christian Church. He is survived by a son, Maurice (Vivien) Hamilton, of Los Altos, California; a daughter, Jane Cahill, of Pekin, Illinois; and two grandsons, Matthew Cahill and Jonathan Cahill. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret; a daughter, Karen; and four siblings, Marion, Violet, Charles, and George. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 8, at Washington Christian Church, with Pastor Jeff Browning officiating. Burial will be in Glendale Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, November 7, at Mason-White Funeral Home and one hour prior to services Saturday at the church. Memorials may be made to the Margaret and Deforrest Hamilton Scholarship Fund at Eureka College or to Washington Christian Church.