Leota Marie Hamilton

Leota Marie Heiser was born on October 8, 1928, in South Bend, Indiana. Her parents were Earl and Lucy Heiser. Leotamarried Melvin Hamilton on September 3, 1949. They were blessed with three children—Ron, Marty, and Terry. Mel was an electrician and Leota a stay-at-home mom as well as Mel’s bookkeeper.

Dad Hamilton had Alzheimer’s for thirteen years before passing away on August 12, 1995. Leota eventually moved down to Greenville, South Carolina to be near her son Ron and his wife Shelly. Marty and Dan Nelson moved to Greenville as well in 2011. Terry and his wife Nancy have most recently lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Terry recently retired as a pastor.

Leota’s oldest grandson, Jonathan, suffered from schizophrenia for fifteen years before taking his life in 2013. Leota’s oldest son, Ron, passed away on April 19, 2023, after dealing thirteen years with frontal temporal dementia. Leota’s great grandson, David, passed away shortly after birth.

Leota had just turned ninety-six years old two months prior to her passing. She will very much be missed by her children and grandchildren. She is survived by a sister, Grace and is a beloved grandma to fifteen grandchildren—Jonathan, Tara, Alyssa, Megan, Jason, Jenna, Kristen, Katie, Ali, Jordan, Seth, Micah, Moriah, Cherith, and Ethan.

Leota goes by Grandma Great to twenty-seven great grandchildren—Clayton, Chloe, Nelson, Dottie, Halle, Elise, Graham, Emery, Hayes, Tirzah, Terrill, Raven, Lucas, Garth, Gunner, Clint, Kendra, Alan, Prentiss, Payson, Ella, Hamilton, Cato, Elsie, Rosa, Kenna, and Abigail.

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, December 27, 2024 at 4:00 PM in the Chapel at Morningside Baptist Church, 1115 Pelham Rd. Greenville, SC 29615. The family will receive guests beginning at 3:30 PM.