Jean Hamilton

Jean Shawhan Hamilton died peacefully on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 in her home at Scottish Rite Park in Des Moines, Iowa. She was born June 21, 1935 in Des Moines and adopted by Fae and Ken Shawhan and a brother, Bob. She grew up in Des Moines where she garnered many friends during her early life and kept things in line as a lifeguard at the Hyperion Field Club. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1953, then attended Drake University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and later a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Iowa. Her career took her to the Chicago area and the Jane Adams Hull House. She worked with many Appalachian, Native American, and Hmong people, who valued her expertise and kindness immensely. She also learned much from them.

Jean married George Hamilton in 1965, and they raised their son, Andy, on the shores of Sylvan Lake in Lake County, Illinois. Jean, in her very practical way, taught him to swim before he walked so that he wouldn’t go drowning himself. After they retired in 1995, Jean and George moved to Las Vegas to “take it easy.” At an Irish bar they occasionally patronized, they became friends with a group of native Samoans from Hawaii. Shortly, after meeting them, Jean helped many in the group further their education by going back to school or sometimes just giving good advice from her years of social work. George died in 2010, and in 2016, Jean moved back to Des Moines to live at Scottish Rite Park where many of her high school friends lived.

Jean’s family and friends will always remember her as compassionate, kind, and truly funny. Her son Andy recalls her prankster nature, particularly when it came to signs, a trait he decided to emulate. For example, while waiting somewhat impatiently for a business consultant one afternoon, they changed the letters on a sign reading “accounts” to “cocanuts” instead. He also recalls that it was hard to get away with anything. His mother was good at sniffing things out.

Jean loved being around people, and because of her kind and funny nature, she made friends effortlessly, and was easy to talk to. She was a sort of local news source wherever she lived, never gossipy, but in a caring, sharing the information way. Her sharp, “lint-trap” mind made it easy for her to remember things, and conversations with her were always interesting, if not enlightening.

Jean had a child-like excitement about her. When she thought of something funny to say, which was often, she would get a wide-eyed, excited look in her eyes. After she’d shared it, she would sit there satisfied; almost, but not quite, smug; as she watched others chuckle. She loved laughter and created so much of it for the world. She was a great storyteller and liked regaling others with her adventures as a social worker and stories from the lakeside neighborhood in Lake County. She loved fun intellectual games and never met a limerick contest she couldn’t win.

Jean was a loyal Roosevelt and Drake graduate and an active participant in PEO, DAR, and other organizations. She was the president of the Residents’ Association and the Good Gifts Committee at Scottish Rite Park, where, because of her friendly, inclusive nature, she knew practically everyone and kept things orderly and running smoothly in any way she could.

Since she was organized and attentive to detail, Jean was often the “adult” in her personal relationships, but that never kept her from creating fun and being wonderfully witty, especially when she was with one or more of the Fabulous Fourteen, a group of friends that formed in high school and kept in touch all through their lives, or the Wine Squad at Scottish Rite. She always found a way to make the best of things and could turn anything routine into an adventure of sorts. Because of that, those who knew Jean, truly cherished and appreciated her.

In the two years preceding her death, Jean came to know her birth family, The Simmons clan. An incredibly colorful group living the Wild West in places like Idaho and Alaska They wrote and spoke often, sharing stories about building homesteads and encounters with grizzly bears. Sadly a planned gathering was interrupted by COVID-19.
There’s much to say about someone who left a trail of light-heartedness and made the world brighter, funnier, and smarter.

Jean was preceded in death by her parents, her husband. She is survived by her son Andy, as well as brothers and sisters from two wonderful families.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Planned Parenthood are kindly appreciated. Jean was a long time volunteer for the organization and a vocal supporter of women’s health.

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