John Leldon Hamilton and Edna May Jeanette Woodruff

John Leldon Hamilton and Edna May Jeanette Woodruff (known by most as Jeanette) were both born (he in 1923, she in 1927) into farming families in the Red Bluff community. They attended the Red Bluff school (which also served as a church) for most of their primary education. John attended his final year of high school at Laward, graduating from high school there. Jeanette transferred to the Lolita school when her parents sold the farm and moved into Lolita, where she graduated from high school. Shortly after their graduations, the United States entered World War II and John enlisted in the U. S. Navy. While he was in the Navy they were married on March 17, 1945. Following the war, John returned to civilian life in Edna, Texas. John and Jeanette raised four boys on a modest income. While Jeannette stayed home as housewife and mother, John worked as an auto mechanic initially and later for Magnolia Oil Company at Vanderbilt and Freer, Texas. After twelve years of oilfield work John was accepted for a machinist apprenticeship program at the Union Carbide plant in Seadrift, so off the family went to Seadrift in August 1961, just in time to experience Hurricane Carla the following month. John retired from Union Carbide after 27 years in March 1988 and they moved to their retirement home in Seguin, Texas. John died on January 31, 2007 and Edna May Jeanette died on February 16, 2025.

A graveside inurnment service at Lolita/Red Bluff Community Cemetery is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 11:00 AM.