Shirley T. Hamilton

SHIRLEY THELMA (nee ARMSTRONG) HAMILTON

March 12, 1940—January 30, 2026

Shirley T. Hamilton, age 85, from Wilmore, KY, passed onto Heaven on Friday, January 30, 2026. She was born in Toronto/East York, Ontario, Canada March 12,1940, the daughter and first child of the late Bill and Irene Armstrong.

She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Victor Hamilton, and by her four children: Heather Yost (Scott), Paul Hamilton, Dawn Webb (Tate), and Dave Hamilton (Melody). Her grandchildren number 13: Nate, Ben, Natalie (Joshua), Bethany (Dan), Holly (Ben), Rachel, Zach, Maddie, Abby, Lindy, Sam, Evie, Lily and two great-grandchildren, Sadie and Millie. Shirley leaves two siblings: sister Nancy (Dave) in Markham, Ontario, and brother John (Lyne) in West Vancouver, BC.

Shirley graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto in 1958. She then became the school secretary in two elementary schools in Toronto/East York. It was there she met a young seminarian back from Asbury who had returned to Toronto for a summer job with the local Board of Education (guess who?). Over a cup of tea the match was struck. On September 17, 1965 Shirley and Vic were married in Toronto. After Shirley taught Vic how to drive a stick shift, they headed to Wilmore in their VW Bug for Vic to start his third year of seminary. Meanwhile, Shirley secured her green card and worked for the Fayette County Board of Education in Lexington, KY. Shirley and Vic then traveled to near Boston for Vic to complete grad school at Brandeis University. Their first three children were born in Massachusetts, and Dave was born in Lexington after the growing family returned to Wilmore for Vic to teach at Asbury College.

Since 1971, Shirley and Vic have lived in Wilmore, KY. They have shared a joint ministry over all these years at Asbury University, and traveling to churches, camps, conferences and retreats both in North America and internationally: Shirley to pray and encourage, Vic to preach and teach. Almost always they went together. They joked that Shirley’s favorite verse in the Bible was “Whither thou goest, I will go; thy camp meeting shall be my camp meeting, and thy conference shall be my conference.” Throughout these years one major part of Shirley’s ministry was typing everything Vic wrote by hand (sermon, lecture, article, book), a labor of love that amounted to thousands of pages.

Shirley’s pride and joy was her family, pouring all her heart into providing a loving home. She put the home in homemaker. She made each one of her children and grandchildren feel special, and she loved to get “the tea” from her granddaughters. She and Vic prayed daily for their family. Her children could count on her to be cheering them on. Many memories were made at 502 Wilder Reynolds-family dinners around the dining room table (lasagna was her specialty), singing Happy Birthday to Jesus with a red velvet cake, college students and missionaries stopping by, Mom’s pop shop, 4H projects, and more.

Shirley was also a wonderful friend to many. She had a way of making people feel special and seen. She loved participating in women’s Bible study, baking birthday cakes for First Glide, leading cooking classes at Friendship International, making many friends through the Chinese Church in Lexington, and enjoying many adventures with their friends the Metcalfs and Wiggams. She met her best friends working on the farm and picking peppers with Judy. Shirley loved to laugh and had a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Shirley fought the good fight. She kept the faith. To borrow a phrase from our Salvation Army friends, she has been “promoted to glory.”

Goodbye, dear Shirley, Mom, Nana, until we meet again in the New Jerusalem.

Note that in lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate memorial gifts made to Asbury University for the “Victor P Hamilton Endowed Scholarship.” Gifts may be mailed to Asbury University, Advancement Office, 1 Macklem Drive, Wilmore, KY 40390 or made online at www.asbury.edu/give; select “Give Now.”

This obituary was lovingly submitted by her family.  Betts & West Funeral Home is honored to serve the Hamilton family in their time of need.