Lauretta Ann Hamilton
Lauretta Ann (Schmitt) Hamilton passed away on March 12, 2024, at the age of 92, in Kirkland, Washington, of Covid-19 and related complications. She was born in Port Angeles, Washington, on October 22, 1931, the 4th child of 5 living children of Mike & Elsie Schmitt. She was born in the house she grew up in, across from the Catholic Church, which became the foundation stone of her life. She attended Queen of Angels Catholic School and graduated in 1949 from Port Angeles’ Roosevelt High School, where she was active in Girls’ Club, Student Council, Pep Club, choir, and the annual staff. During her childhood, her mother frequently sent her to clean house for the priests and other neighbors who needed assistance and she worked at Lake Crescent Lodge cleaning cabins during the summer. Thus, service to others is what gave her meaning in life.
At the urging of her brother, she moved to Seattle at age 19 for the opportunities of “life in the city.” She worked at an insurance company and lived in an upstairs apartment in a private home in the University District, with only a hot plate for cooking. It was then that she met Wally Hamilton, on a blind date arranged by friends. She married Wally on February 11, 1956, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Seattle and they were blessed with more than 59 years of marriage.
Ann and Wally enjoyed sailing, snow skiing, and golfing during their retirement. But Ann’s greatest love was gardening, working in her yard, and spending time at the family cabin on Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. She sewed doll clothes with the Seattle Children’s Orthopedic Guild and was a Girl Scout leader and involved in Girl Scouts for more than 20 years where she was a loving, motherly presence to several young girls with difficult home lives.
She was a longstanding member (more than 66 years) of Holy Family Catholic Church in Kirkland where she volunteered her time in the church library (which she started), at the parish school, and in the church choir. She also stuffed bulletins in her later years. She even drove fellow parishioners to Mass and doctor’s appointments well into her 80s. Maintaining an extensive list of birthdays and anniversaries, it brought her joy to select the perfect greeting card for her family and friends. Ann heartily embraced her vocation as wife and mother and strengthened this vocation with countless hours of volunteering, mostly at Holy Family Parish, but also at Lake Washington High School while her daughters attended there. She was honored as a Journal -American “Unsung Hero” for her work at LWHS. Her service to others turned to standing by her husband during his decline in his last years.
Ann was predeceased by her sisters, Eleanor (Tschimperle), Elizabeth “Betty” (Hooper), and Roberta “Bebe” (Camporini), brother Reverend Michael Schmitt, and her husband Wally. She is survived by her two daughters: Julie (Eric) Linde, and Janet (John) Thonssen; four grandchildren: Allison (Brian) Schnell, Ian (Tera) Linde, Jason (Molly) Thonssen, and Miles (Anna) Linde; and six great-grandchildren: Eddie and Monica Schnell, Jonah and Micah Linde, Aleah Thonssen, and Riley Linde.
A rosary will be prayed at 7 p.m. on April 1 at Holy Family Catholic Church in Kirkland. A funeral Mass will be held at Holy Family at 11 a.m. on April 2. A private interment will be held at Calvary Cemetery in Seattle at a later date.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the , the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, or Holy Family Catholic Church in Kirkland in Ann’s name.
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