Chief Petty Officer Wayne Robert Hamilton, USNR (Ret.) died on November 14, 2022, at St. Luke's Hospice House in Kansas City, Missouri, at the age of 79. Funeral services are pending. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Altar Guild of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 400 W Wall, Harrisonville, MO, 64701

Wayne was born October 19, 1943, in Kansas City, Missouri. He grew up in Joplin, Missouri, where he graduated from high school in 1961. He entered the United States Naval Reserve in November 1965. He was called to active duty in 1967-70 during the Vietnam Conflict. He served on the USS Whitfield County (stationed in Yokosuka, Japan) as it performed missions in and around the Vietnamese Peninsula. He also served on active duty from April 1976 to April 1978. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 1992.

He married his wife, Davina Georgie (Dee) Baker, on July 11, 1970, at St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Joplin, Missouri. They lived in Peculiar and later Harrisonville for most of their marriage, with their children being raised in Harrisonville. In later years, they moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Wayne was a lifelong Episcopalian and he and Dee joined St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Harrisonville shortly after their marriage.

He worked as an electronics technician. He worked at a variety of places such as AT&T, Maxon Electronics, and Progress Instruments. He volunteered his time with the Harrisonville Fire Department, Harrisonville Civil Defense/Emergency Management Agency, and the Cass County Historical Society's Log Cabin Committee. He could often be seen riding a green John Deere Gator around the Harrisonville Square on the first weekend of October each year.

Wayne was preceded in death by his grandparents, Robert and Catherine Hamilton and O.E. and Stella Reid; his parents, Dr. Eugene Hamilton and Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Hamilton Jones; and his stepfather, Phillip Jones. He is survived by his wife, Davina (Dee), of the home; his siblings: Douglas (Sondra) of Topeka, Kansas; Reid (Deborah Garner) of Hartwell, Georgia; and Mary Katherine (Kate) (Linda Cummins) of Lee's Summit, Missouri; his children: Curtis of Kansas City, Missouri; Kyle (Tasha) of Raymore, Missouri; and Kevin of Cameron, Missouri; and his grandchildren, Alexander and Nicholas (born to Kyle and Tasha). He was also "dad" to many of his children's friends.