Michael Hamilton

Michael Hamilton was a listener, a thinker, gifted with his hands, a man ahead of his time.

His family and friends are remembering these things about him this week after his death from cancer Monday. He was 58.

He built cabinets that were works of art, his friends say. He built airplanes from kits. He built radio-controlled cars that won races all over the United States. His work inside corporate jets included showers and even a hot tub.

“He was always thinking of a better way to do something,” said his sister, Lynne Leake. “In his last few weeks and days, he stated that if he had more time, he would design better products and devices for people who had various disabilities, being someone who had actual experience with those specific needs. I believe he would have done that very thing.”

Hamilton, a resident of Lake Dallas, grew up and spent most of his life in the Denton area. He lived at Good Samaritan Village for less than a week before cancer claimed his life.

“He was interested in a lot of things and was able to do them himself,” said his older brother, Jeff Hamilton of Orange.

They grew up in Denton, fishing for crawdads in ditches, and he remained a fishing enthusiast all his life, his brother said.

His last job entailed building custom interiors in airplanes.

“What he brought to that was knowledge of aviation and the ability to work with any kind of material,” he said.

David Johnson was a lifelong friend of Hamilton’s. They were buddies in high school, roommates for a while and business partners at a fixed-base operation at an airport in Decatur.

Six months ago, Michael was still doing fairly well, Johnson said. When he spoke to him on the telephone last week, he was getting his affairs in order.

Johnson, an American Airlines pilot, taught Hamilton to fly, and he also taught him to fly radio-controlled airplanes.

They built experimental airplanes and then they began building radio-controlled cars.

“In 1979 we picked up a manufacturer. He flew us all over the country racing those radio-controlled cars. He won a national championship and three or four state championships,” Johnson said.

“He was a listener. He would think about things. A very smart individual. I’d give him an idea of something I wanted to do and he would come up with ways to do it.”

He returned to the world of cabinet building and won a contract with Mattel. He went to New York City and built all the office furniture for the company executives.

“He was a master craftsman,” Johnson said. “He’s a legend in the radio-control industry and a fast learner. He was real easygoing.”

J.W. Irick worked with Hamilton just out of high school in the Morris-Irick woodwork shop.

“He was one of the most artistic, talented woodworkers I’ve ever known” Irick said.

But at heart, Hamilton was an animal-lover, a fisherman.

His sister said he worked closely with the Lake Dallas Animal Shelter to care for animals he rescued. She remembers a pelican that he saved after it became entangled in fishing line and plastic at Lewisville Lake.

“He contacted rescue leagues, parks and wildlife and animal control to no avail. Since no help was forthcoming, he suited up in insulated coveralls, welder’s gloves and mask,” she said.

“He climbed into his boat and off he went. I think he circled the pelican for some time. Finally, he scooped the bird up in a fishing net, got it to the bank and into a large cardboard box. It apparently settled down once it was in the box. Mike was able to free it from the many feet of fishing line and plastic that had entangled the bird.

“He then released the pelican from the box and stepped back. The bird composed himself for a short time, then took off. Just another day at the lake for Mike.”

He was born Jan. 7, 1951, to Donald W. and Margaret Jane Hamilton.

He grew up in Denton and was a 1969 graduate of Denton High School. He attended the University of North Texas.

He is survived by his mother, Jane, of Denton; brother and sister-in-law, Jeff and Janet Hamilton of Orange; sister and brother-in-law, Lynne and Gay Leake of Denton; niece, Sally Hamilton of Irving; and nephews J.J. Hamilton of Orange and Casey Leake of Denton.

Visitation is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home, 705 N. Locust St. in Denton.

A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. in the chapel.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity or the Lake Dallas Animal Shelter.

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com.