The death of Dr. William B. Hamilton occured at the Sackville Memorial Hospital on Monday, November 5, 2012. Son of the late Allister Hamilton and Christene Baille, he is survived by his wife Marian L. Banks; their son Brian (Keyna) of Edmonton, Alberta; grandchildren Raphael (Rafe) and Bethany; and a sister Shirley (Hugh) MacDonald of Marysvale, NS.

A native of Brule Point, Nova Scotia and a graduate of Pictou Academy, he held degrees from: Acadia University (BA., B.Ed., M.A) and University of Western Ontario (Ph.D). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (F.R.S.A.) and the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society. Dr. Hamilton's university appointments included: Commonwealth Institute, London, England, University of Western Ontario, Atlantic Institute of Education, Halifax, NS, University of New England, Armidale, Australia and Mount Allison University.

Upon Retirement from the latter in 1995, he was named Professor Emeritus. He then embarked on a part time career as a free lance journalist and columnist for the Sackville Tribune Post and the Saint John Telegraph Journal. Over the years he held office in a number of national organizations including the Canadian Society for Studies in Education, the Social Science Federation of Canada, Geographic Names Board of Canada and the Champlain Society. A long time Board Member of the latter, he served as its Vice President from 1999-2004. His extensive list of publications include the following books: Local History in Atlantic Canada, The Macmillan Book of Canadian Place Names, The Nova Scotia Traveler, One County One World, Place Names of Atlantic Canada and At The Crossroads: A History of Sackville New Brunswick.

A memorial service will be held at the Mount Allison University Chapel on Friday, November 9, 20012 at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the charity of your choice. There will be no visitation. Arrangements have been entrusted to Jones Funeral Home, Sackville, NB.