Glenn Edward Hamilton

Glenn was born February 17, 1956, the only child of Coman Vance Hamilton and Ethel Gray Hamilton. He grew up in the Arden community in the North Carolina mountains, about 20 miles outside of Asheville NC. He graduated from Roberson High School in 1974. His father was a maintenance supervisor at Ecusta, his mother was a homemaker.

Glenn loved to ride his bike. He took it with us on every vacation - even to Cancun, Mexico. He loved fixing things, even when we were on vacation. He enjoyed reading. He thought he was a good cook, (I beg to differ). I have some very funny stories about his cooking disasters. I never let him forget the gravy making attempts. He truly enjoyed helping people, which is probably why he wanted to spend some of his retirement working with Habitat for Humanity.

Glenn attended the University of North Carolina - Charlotte (UNCC as we all lovingly called it back then). While he was a student, he worked in Residence Life as a maintenance worker. He did so well in that job, they hired him full-time. In 1984, Glenn met his future bride while dropping off some paperwork in the Purchasing department. Turns out, he had noticed her before, but never could describe her adequately enough for anyone to figure out who his dream girl was. On that fateful day, she stopped by his purchasing agent's office to confirm their lunch plans while he was sitting there. As she left, Glenn turned to Becky Lancaster, pointing in my direction, and whispered " That's HER!". Becky proceeded to invite him to join us for lunch. We were married 11 months later, despite all the naysayers. No one thought we had anything in common. There was a betting pool on how long we would last. Pretty sure no one guessed 40 years.

In 1987, Glenn went to work at Charter Pines hospital as their Facilities Director. He enjoyed the job and the staff. In the early days, managers got some very nice perks. But insurance companies started cutting back on mental health funding. That was the death knell for many psychiatric facilities. With the handwriting on the wall, Glenn went to work for Continental Tire. At the time, Continental only had a tire manufacturing plant in Charlotte. They had just announced that they were moving their headquarters to Charlotte. Glenn's first task was overseeing the move from Akron OH to Charlotte. There was a lot of traveling back and forth. There were a lot of logistical nightmares, not the least of which was the number of employees that didn't want to move South. Glenn found it necessary to hone his diplomacy skills, which had heretofore been a weak point for him. He learned that the tire industry was closely linked to the car industry's economic cycles. He got tired of the 'boom or bust' cycles, and started looking for a more stable job.

In 2004, Glenn was excited to read about Johnson and Wales building a new campus in Charlotte. He applied for the Facilities Director position. He turned them down when they told him he would have to take a pay cut. A year later, Tarun Malik called Glenn back, and offered him the job again, this time at the salary he had requested. To Mr. Malik, I would like to offer my deepest gratitude for believing in my husband. I think he met all of your expectations.

Now 20 years later, Glenn was looking forward to retiring after his 70th birthday. We had plans. But God had other ideas. I can only say that I am profoundly grateful that he did not have to suffer long.

Thank you all for your kindness and sympathy. It has been a great comfort to me.

A Celebration of Glenn's Life will be held at McEwen Funeral Service - Mint Hill Chapel, located at 7428 Matthews Mint Hill Road, Mint Hill, NC 28227. The service is scheduled for January 15, 2026, starting at 2:00 pm. The family will receive friends following the service.