Liena A. Hamilton

Liena A. Hamilton, age 93, passed away Sunday, January 21, 2018 at home in Savanna with her loving family by her side. A funeral service will be held 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 27, 2018 at the Community United Church of Christ, Savanna. A visitation will be held prior to the service in Elliott Hall next to the Church, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Saturday, January 27, 2018. Burial will be in Spring Lake Cemetery, Savanna, followed by a luncheon back at Elliott Hall. Memorials may be made in Liena’s honor to the Carroll County Help Center Thrift Store, the Savanna Food Pantry, or Mercy Hospice.

Liena was born June 1, 1924 in Glidden, Iowa, the daughter of Max and Anna Janssen Pahnke. She is a 1941 graduate of the Glidden High School. After going to work in an ammunition factory, Liena and her cousin Leona decided to join the service. They chose the Navy because they liked the uniforms. She attended Basic Training at Hunter College, NY and graduated from the US Naval Hospital Corp School, Bethesda, MD. She then proudly served at the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago in the Medical Department as a Hospital Corpsman 1st Class during WWII. It was there that she met her husband, Bob. On January 18, 1950, Liena married Robert T. Hamilton. They raised six children and celebrated 54 years of marriage before Robert’s death in 2004.

Liena was a homemaker and sold Avon for many years. She was a member of the Community United Church of Christ, where she was a member of the Women’s Fellowship and the Country Store Circle. She taught Sunday School for several years and was an active member of the Savanna Wa-Tan-Ye group for many years. To honor her service during WWII, Liena is listed in the Women’s WWII Memorial in Washington D.C.. She is also a member of the American Legion. She believed in serving her country and also helping her fellow-man. Liena volunteered for many years locally at the Savanna Food Pantry, Carroll County Help Center Thrift Store, Meals-On-Wheels and helped with the Christmas Basket Fund.

She loved all her flowers especially gladiolas, hollyhocks and yellow roses. She enjoyed feeding and watching her white-bellied squirrels, playing cards, playing with and making clay with her grandchildren, growing milkweed for the monarch butterflies and was also known for her popcorn balls at Halloween. She loved to laugh, collected angels, glass slippers and bells. She loved reading – including cookbooks and anything health related – and in fact regularly gave her children suggestions for all health concerns – take vitamins, eat wheat germ, garlic, put Vix or onions on your feet. She quoted Prevention magazine a lot and had cures for everything. She loved music and listening to her “Saturday Night TV concerts” of Lawrence Welk and gospel music. When she was unable to attend church she loved listening to the local services on WCCI every Sunday morning.
“Liena was everyone’s Mom” treating all her nieces and nephews as her own children. She enjoyed raising her kids, then later enjoyed all of the time that she spent with her 14 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by her children three sons, James (Yvonne) Hamilton of Davenport, Iowa, Jeff (Cathy) Hamilton of Byron, Illinois and Dr. Kevin (Kathy) Hamilton of Bettendorf, Iowa; three daughters, Cathy (Don) Nichols, JoAnn (Marty) Rubio and Julie (Ray) Skiles, all of Savanna and a daughter-in-law Dianne(Dave) Buglass of Argyle, WI. She is also survived by a sister, Grace (James) Perkins of Holden, Missouri. Liena is preceded in death by her husband; both parents; a son, Robert D. Hamilton; and thirteen siblings.

Liena’s family wishes to give a special thanks to Amanda, Diana, Gwen, Minerva, Sandy, and the Mercy Hospice caregivers for their wonderful care of their Mom.

Due to severe allergies the family requests that everyone refrain from wearing cologne or perfume to the services.