Obituaries

Clay Dean Hamilton

Photo of Clay Dean Hamilton Photo of Clay Dean Hamilton
CLAY DEAN HAMILTON, 85, of Little Rock, died Saturday night, June 30, 2018 in the VA Hospital. He was born April 28, 1933 in Norris, Okla. Clay grew up in eastern Oklahoma and California's San Joaquin Valley. He dropped out of school and left home at age 17 to join the U.S. Navy, serving on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Philippine Sea during the Korean War. He joined the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s soon after completing his Navy service. High scores on aptitude tests placed Clay in the Air Force's data processing group where he learned to program IBM's punched card tabulating machines, the forerunner of large mainframe computers. He left the Air Force in the early 1960s, returning to live briefly in California. Soon, though, Clay and his brother Archie both bought farms and moved their families to what was then rural Round Mountain, just outside of Conway, Ark. The two brothers had married sisters, and none of them had ever lived in Arkansas. Clay found work in Little Rock as data processing manager for the company that was to become Affiliated Foods. He led the organization's transition from tabulating machines to an IBM mainframe computer. Clay was an entrepreneur. He struck a deal with his employer to lease time on the company's large computer when it was idle at night, and he began selling automated office services to local businesses that were manually producing payrolls, bills, A/P checks, inventories and financial statements. Clay was both a talented computer programmer and a gifted salesman. He soon resigned his position with Affiliated Foods and literally worked day and night to make his new business a success. Within a few years, he sold this business to Systematics Inc. and moved on to other projects. During his life, Clay launched a number of new enterprises. Several of them failed, but some were successful, including his last. In his late seventies, he operated a computer sales and repair business from a wheelchair in Little Rock's Landmark community. Clay is survived by his wife of 19 years, Wilma Hamilton of Little Rock, Ark. Surviving children are Ana Hamilton of San Diego, Calif.; Clay Hamilton Jr. of Sherwood, Ark.; Debbie Funderburg of Clovis, Calif.; Elizabeth Wisener of Madera, Calif.; Aretta Gordish of Bethel, Conn.; and John Hamilton of Madera, Calif. Survivors also include a sister, Jean Porter of Sherwood, Ark.; a brother, Lynn Hamilton of Little Rock; 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. The family thanks the doctors, nurses and staff of Little Rock's VA hospital for their attentive care and intensive treatment during the last six years of Clay's life. He will be buried near his brother, Archie, in the Round Mountain Community Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Published July 8, 2018

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