Kenneth Bruce Hamilton

Kenneth (Bruce) Hamilton, 82 years of age, passed away on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Bee Cave, Texas. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri to Nancy Irene Hamilton (Logan) and Kenneth Arthur Hamilton on April 25, 1941.

His father worked for Panhandle Eastern (Trunkline) gas pipeline company which resulted in the family living in more rural areas of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana as Bruce was growing up. He was an only child and loved being outdoors and working with animals. He spoke of riding a horse around the countryside where they lived and attending what he remembered as a one-room school house with only one teacher during part of his youth. His father’s job later moved them to Houston and corporate headquarters. In Houston Bruce started and eventually graduated from Bellaire High School where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Bruce attended The University of Oklahoma where he excelled as a student. While at OU he was a member of multiple Honor Societies, the Dean’s list, a member of the Student Senate, and part of the Oklahoma’s Engineering “secret” society Loyal Knights of Old Trusty (LKOT). Bruce was also a member of the Navy Reserve Officer Training Program (NROTC) and he was eventually commissioned as an officer in the Navy. Bruce graduated from The University of Oklahoma in June 1963 with a B.S. in Engineering and then married the love of his life Patricia Patterson on June 8, 1963, in Oklahoma City.

Bruce and Trish moved to Northern California (Mare Island) after graduation where Bruce was assigned to several different U.S. Navy ships including an ammunition carrier and a destroyer escort. After being discharged from the Navy they moved to Austin, Texas in the mid 1960’s where they lived for 25 years and where their children Nancy, Matthew and Katherine were born. After moving to Austin Bruce attended the University of Texas where he earned a Master’s degree in Engineering Physics, although he remained a Sooner fan living in Austin.

Once he confirmed that being a full-time student did not pay very well, Bruce was hired at Tracor Inc., an Austin based defense contractor. He went to work at Tracor, who was later acquired by Marconi North America, who was then subsequently acquired by BAE Systems. Bruce’s work eventually took the family to the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. in 1986 where he and Trish lived for the next 20 years. While he worked for Tracor/Marconi/BAE for over 36 years Bruce was eventually promoted to President BAE Systems, a position which he held for well over a decade. He was active in the business community and served for a period as President of the Maryland High Technology Council.

After retiring in the early 2000’s, Bruce and Trish built a home in Austin (Bee Cave) where they moved in 2004 and resided until their deaths. Bruce loved being outdoors whether hiking, hunting or camping and he was also an avid reader. He enjoyed traveling around Texas and the Southwest and learning about Native American history. They purchased a small ranch north of Bertram Texas where they had chickens, got involved in raising Cutting horses, and where he also became a partner in a Barbeque restaurant.

Bruce was preceded in death by his wife Trish in March of 2019. He is survived by his children, Nancy Hamilton, Matthew Hamilton and wife, Amy, and Katherine Tripi and husband, Joe; and his grandchildren, Victoria Hamilton, Logan Hamilton, Justin Hamilton, Ella Tripi, Ainsley Tripi and Austin Tripi.

Graveside Services will be at 9:30AM Tuesday May 23rd 2023 at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Memorial Park. Please join us for a reception following the service at Bruce’s House.

Condolences may be made at www.cookwaldenforestoaks.com.