Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Recovering alcoholic could be counted on
Friends say he was Ky. trooper
BY MOLLY HARPER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
At the end of his life, 71-year-old Charles Hamilton seemed to have nothing. A resident of the Recovery Hotel for recovering substance addicts in Over-the-Rhine, Mr. Hamilton had no home to call his own, no family to speak of and no history to fill the obituary announcing his death July 3.
At a crowded memorial service Tuesday, friends at the Recovery Hotel said they knew only what Mr. Hamilton told them — that he was originally from Falmouth, and had once been a Kentucky state trooper.
But those who considered him family didn't mind not knowing who he was before he began his recovery from alcoholism six years ago. They knew him as what he became, the face of Recovery Hotel.
“He was a kind, quiet, stable presence among us,” said Bonnie Neumeier. “We could always count on him to volunteer for what needed to be done. In the end, we were his family, his community, and that's what matters.”
Pat Clifford of the Drop-Inn Center, where Mr. Hamilton completed rehab, said the important thing to remember is how they saw him live: “At the end of his life, he had been clean for six years. He always had a kind word or a smile for someone. He was a role model for the other residents.”
Former Recovery Hotel resident Donald Whitehead said Mr. Hamilton didn't discuss his life before rehab, but that it's normal for alcoholics to avoid reliving their past.
“A lot of people in recovery aren't as proud of themselves as they would be under normal circumstances,” said Mr. Whitehead, the director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. “The past re minds them of a lot of pain.”
Relatives or friends from Falmouth couldn't be found by the staff of the Recovery Hotel. The personnel office of the Kentucky State Police could not confirm whether Mr. Hamilton had worked for them. He said he was divorced, but there's no mention of his former wife in any record. His mother, Wilda Lach, died several months ago in Florida.
The lack of information has left Mr. Clifford unsure what to do with Mr. Hamilton's ashes.
If you have any information on Mr. Hamilton, please call Mr. Clifford at 721-0643.
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