Viola May Hamilton

Viola May Hamilton, born December 9, 1919 in Brosely, Missouri went to be with her Lord and Savior on March 8, 2015. Viola was a child of the depression and surviving it taught her to work hard and depend on the Lord. Viola and husband Vernon raised four daughters: Marl Anne, Sharron, Joy and Elaine. She was an avid learner and pursued many courses in a wide variety of subjects. At age 60 she became a missionary and continued to serve her Lord in places from Alabama to Texas until her death. Services will be handled by Brookside Funeral Home, 13747 Eastex Freeway, Houston, Texas 77039. Visitation will be Tuesday, March 10, 2015 from 5- 8PM. The funeral service will be at 9:00AM on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 with interment following at Brookside Memorial Park.

Once Upon a Time, written by Viola Hamilton 11/4/1992 and revised 1/21/94.

Once upon a time there was a little girl. The girl was born in a little log cabin in southern Missouri. She had an older sister and they loved to play and read and study.

When she was still a little girl, the family moved to central Illinois and had another new little baby. Then there were three girls, Martha, Viola and Goldie. Their father worked hard on a farm as a tenant farmer.

Viola was born December 9, 1919. The First World War had left the country very poor. There wasn't much food and times were hard. Her father worked as a laborer on a farm. Later, he fouond a job working in construction. They were lilving in a little town called Taylorville, Illinois. Then, they could pay their rent and buy food.

The children grew. The Lord was not included in the family activities. They went fishing and swimming and nutting and raised a garden. They moved to Quincy, Illinois and lived in a three room house on a bluff (high hill) overlooking the Mississippi River. The father, Henry Kipper, broke his leg while hunting and could not work.

Viola was 13 years old. There was a depression in the land, no one had any work nor any money. The family got an old skill (boat) and fixed it up to use on the Mississippi River. Viola went fishing. Fridays, she sold the fish they caught by peddling them door to door. The children also sold Cloverine Salve, Garden Seeds, and magazines. A neighbor allowed them to help her in her rock garden for 10 cents a day.

Viola was about twelve years old when she began to go to Sunday School. No one told her to go or took her there. She went when she wanted to and she stayed home when she wanted to. A loving Sunday School teacher told her she could be baptized--if she came on Easter morning. She went to church and was baptized. She prayed as she walked to and from school. But, she was not saved.

Again, the family moved. A neighbor, Mrs. Bell took Viola to church. Once Mrs. Bell took a group to a youth revival. Viola recognized that the Lord was real. He loved her and wanted to save her. Viola went to the altar in Ursa Christian Church and told everyone she wanted to be a missionary.

Several years later, Viola married Vernon Hamilton. He was handsome and a gentleman. They began their own family. They moved to Freeport, Texas. Vernon became a cement mason. Their fourth girl was born in Freeport.

Again, they moved. That time they moved to Houston and they stayed there until all four daughters married.

In 1970, Vernon and Viola, a twosome again, moved to Porter. They stopped going to church. For a long time, they deserted God. That made God sad, so he built a little Baptist Church within sight of their house. Viola started going there. After that, Jesus saved all four of their daughters and their sons-in-laws. Finally, Jesus saved Vernon.

On December 7, 1979, the Lord called Vernon to Heaven to be with Him. Violas was left alone in Porter with Jesus in her heart and the Holy Spirit as her comforter.

God wanted Viola to be a missionary. Viola wanted to be a missionary. It was hard for a 60 year old lady to find a place of service. It meant that she had to hunt a new church. The Lord led her to the First Baptist Church of Porter. She joined that church on January 4, 1981. She took Teacher's Training with David Warren and went to Glorieta for further training.

At Glorieta, there were lots of flyers about missions. Viola filled her suitcase and brought them home. One folder was about the Mission Service Corps. She filled out the long application form. The church council approved the application. The Home Missions Board approved also.

February 24, 1982, Viola bought a ticket and flew to Arizona for orientation. On May 9, 1982, the Monday after mother's day, she left for Alabama to serve.

There was a Christian Service Center in Lineville, Alabama. Viola would spend the next two and a half years helping Neal Wyatt, the Director of Missions. She taught Bible, sewing, and reading among other subjects.

God lessed the work in Alabama by giving The Service Center their own building. God also supplied money to renovate the building by the sale of used clothing. Fifteen people accepted C as Savior in the Service Center. It was hard work but God made it easy.

April 1, 1985, after much prayer, Viola became Minister of Outreach at First Baptist Church in Porter. She served FBC three years. The pastor, Gene Wilson was supervisor.

During May of 1988, she served in the Seaman's Center of Freeport, Texas. The chaplain at eh Seaman's Center was Joe Jones. He wanted Viola to stay longer. In October, she agreed and began to serve one year there.

Viola spent the years 1990 to 1992 serving with the Union Baptist Association. She was bookkeeper and encourager for the food pantry ministry. The primary work there was in the inner city of Houston. The inner city is inside the 610 Loop in Houston. She also helped with the Seminary Extension, the Hispanic Seminary, the Korean Seminary, the Cambodian Seminary and the UBA Institute.

GA's sent their Christmas in August gifts to h4er supervisor, Al Guajardo. Viola received those gifts from hundreds of GA's and wrote them thank you notes. She gave the gifts to Barbara Oden who worked with the apartment ministries. The pastors faces were full of joy as they gave the fgifts to the children. The gifts made a joyful Christmas for over 6000 people who lived in apartments.

During the school year, 1992-93, Viola taught English as a second language in the Samoa Baptist Academy. The church sponsor was The Happy Valley Baptist Church on the tiny island of Tutuila. The pastor was Siu Toimoana.

Pray for the Mission Service Corps men and women. They work as volunteers. They serve without pay and give full time service for a year or more. God uses the skills that the men and women have developed to do the work that he assigns them to do. This is a continued story so it may change this year or next year. Viola has not stopped working for Jesus Christ our Lord.