Patricia Ann Wardley Hamilton, 94, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Grandview-on-Hudson, New York, passed away on March 11, 2025. She was predeceased by her husband of 67 years, Lloyd A. Hamilton Jr.
Patricia Hamilton, 94, passed away on March 11. A celebration of her life will take place May 4 in Indiana.
She was the former editor-in-chief of D&B Reports, a keen sailor and longtime volunteer at the Bronx Zoo.
Patricia was born in 1930 in Chicago to Charles and Anna Wardley. Charles was an advertising salesman and Anna, a housewife. Due to her father’s job, the family moved frequently, including stints in Pittsburg, Chicago and Darien.
Throughout her life, Patricia cultivated deep and lasting friendships. She met Mary deCamp when she attended New Trier High School in Illinois; her bond with roommates Lueza Thirkield Gelb and Phyllis “Rusty” Nason Gelb at the Walnut Hill School stood the test of time and distance — friendships that would last and influence all of their lives with many shared memories and family vacations.
Her friends often described her as a quick wit, adventurous spirit and always ready to help out. Pat earned a degree in English from Connecticut College in 1952 and her master’s degree at Teacher’s College from Columbia University.
Patricia enjoyed a long career in publishing. Her first job after college was at Houghton Mifflin Publishing in Boston; after raising three children, she returned to school to earn her master’s degree in 1969.
Pat briefly taught English in a local public high school, then worked at the Women’s School and was a freelance editor for the New York Times before landing her dream job at Dun & Bradstreet as editor in chief of D&B Reports, a magazine for small business owners, for 25 years.
Pat met her future husband, Lloyd Hamilton, on a blind date her freshman year at college. The romance took flight after they reconnected at Rusty Gelb’s wedding in 1950. They married in August 1952 following her graduation and moved into a tiny apartment in the Beacon Hill section of Boston.
After Lloyd completed medical school in Boston, they moved in 1954 to San Francisco for his internship, a year they remembered fondly. They returned to New York so Lloyd could complete his residency in psychiatry at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
In 1958, while out for a Sunday drive along the Hudson River they discovered the village of Grand View-on-Hudson, and through friend and author Jim Salter, found a house on the Hudson River that would become their home for 61 years.
Early on in their courtship Lloyd introduced Patricia to his love of skiing and sailing – testing their romance with a ski trip to Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mt Washington, New Hampshire.
Her initiation to sailing was far more successful, with a cruise off Cape Cod with friends Edwin and Elizabeth Gaynor aboard the sailboat Helena, and Pat was hooked. Thus began their lifelong sailing adventure, with many cruises aboard the Helena and with Bruce and Lueza Gelb, before purchasing their own sailboat, the River Gull, a 27-foot Tartan.
There would be four River Gulls in all; Pat’s summers spent navigating the eastern seaboard aboard the River Gull from the Hudson to Maine and beyond, were testament to her adventurous nature and love for the sea.
In 2000 (in their 70s) Pat and Lloyd made the first of four Transatlantic crossings in the River Gull, sailing from Marblehead Massachusetts. A landing in St. Malo, France. Pat was always at the helm or in the galley, keeping a ravenous crew fed in rough seas.
Pat’s last cruise took place in January 2025, when she traveled on a small ship to the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, revisiting islands she and Lloyd had sailed to many times before on bareboat charters.
Her dedication to the Bronx Zoo, where she volunteered for two decades, showcased her commitment to animal welfare and education. After her long career at D&B, Pat had a second career, first as a docent, then assisting in the zoo hospital.
She would regale her children with memorable moments via email: “I got to hold the paw of a snow leopard today!” An email with the subject “Heaven” showed her holding a three-week-old lion cub. Her multiple travels to Africa as a volunteer for conservation projects for the Cheetah Foundation and Earthwatch research projects with lions and zebras highlighted her global conservation perspective and desire to make a positive impact on the world.
After Lloyd died in 2019, Patricia moved to Indianapolis to be near her daughter, Diana, and took up Pilates and art classes. She adopted a rescue Havanese “Tippy,” who was bedside at her passing.
Patricia is survived by her children: Diana Hope Hamilton (John Hammond), Lloyd Alexander Hamilton III (Leslie Benoliel) and Andrea Marguerite Hamilton; her grandchildren: John Hammond IV (Victoria), Tozer Thomas Hammond, Jackson Wardley Hammond, Andrew Critchfield Hammond, Benjamin Alexander Hamilton (Abigail) and Nigel Rappaport Hamilton; and her great-grandchildren, Alice and Lillian Hammond.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be sent to The Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo), noting Patricia Hamilton as the Honoree with an email copy to dhamilton@sycamoreadvisors.com.
A celebration of life service for friends and all those who helped Pat enjoy her last years of life will be held from 3 to 6 p.m., Sunday, May 4 at The Woodstock Club. All who knew and enjoyed and helped Pat are welcome to join us. RSVP to dhamilton@sycamoreadvisors.com
— an obituary from Flanner Buchanan funeral home where online condolences may be left