Margaret "Laurie" Hamilton

Margaret Lawrence ‘Laurie’ Williams Hamilton was born in Pottstown, PA on October 12, 1948.

Laurie was the eldest daughter of Mansfield ‘Smoky’ Wiggins Williams and Margaret ‘Peggy’ Van Vechten Williams, followed briefly by her brother (Mansfield ‘Chip’ Williams Jr.) and sister (Patricia ‘Pat’ Williams). Her family moved to Wilberham, MA shortly after her birth, and she later attended St. Timothy’s School in Stevenson, MD (a school where generations of her relatives had attended). She enrolled at Skidmore College intending to become a nurse. While pursuing this degree, Laurie worked at the Frontier Nursing/Midwifery Service in Hyden, KY (delivering babies on horseback). Later on rotation at Bellevue Hospital (NY), she developed her lifelong passion for Clinical Psychology.

Prior to her graduation in Psychology and Sociology, Laurie met her future husband, ‘Jack’ (Jackson D. Hamilton); in 1971, they married and both pursued advanced degrees (Laurie initially at Bryn Mawr, PA). In 1974, Laurie and Jack moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1976, they had their first son (Jackson D. Hamilton, Jr.), and in 1980, their second son (William S. L. Hamilton). Laurie continued to wear her Superwoman cape: focusing on charities (such as providing counseling on Skid Row), running a busy baby sitting co-op, leading a Cub Scout pack (100 cubbies!), serving on church boards, and many other ventures. In 1983, Laurie received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, after completing original research on the freeze response (an important concept in modern trauma treatment).

In 1991, Laurie and her family moved to Asheville, NC. She continued her Psychology career focusing in trauma treatment through Jungian Analysis, EMDR, and Neurofeedback. She was heavily involved in the WNC Psychological Association, as well as spending time as a Red Cross disaster mental health coordinator (including providing frontline care at Ground Zero to the first responders of 9/11). In latter years, she took care of six relatives in their final days and as a fiduciary for their estates.

As an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Laurie remained a devoted mystical ‘Celtic’ Christian – believing the embodied expression of Christ exists in acts of compassion. She was truly a gem: patient, generous, kind, always striving to be of greater service, and a natural philosopher- often sharing some esoteric reflections related to relatives, religion, or the pleroma of her curiosity. In the end, her appetite for strawberry guava juice and tiramisu was (mostly) insatiable.

She will be deeply missed, After a series of strokes, Laurie’s ship sailed over the horizon June 14 2026, surrounded by family. She is survived by her husband Jack, her sons Jackson (and his wife, Lisa Wenzel-Hamilton, and their two daughters, Skylar and Helene), and Will (and his wife, Lisa Sherman, and his donor-daughter Katel Myers).

A memorial will be planned in a few months at Trinity Episcopal in Asheville NC to celebrate Laurie. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the following charities, in no particular order: Manna Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Trinity Episcopal Church, or Four Seasons Hospice Foundation.