The Legacy of Ernest ‘Ernie’ Hamilton, Sr.
A rare few people leave behind stories that become part of a family’s identity. Ernest Eugene Hamilton, Sr. was one of those people.
Born on September 24, 1932, in Key West, Florida, Ernie entered the world under difficult circumstances. His father, William Joseph Hamilton, was murdered in the Florida Everglades while on a hunting trip before Ernie was born, leaving his mother, Florinda Gomes Hamilton, to raise her young family through the hardships of the Great Depression.
You can read about that story in Lostmans Heritage: Pioneers in the Florida Everglades.
His childhood unfolded in the rugged beauty of Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands, long before the area became part of Everglades National Park. It was a place where survival depended on ingenuity rather than convenience. The islands became his first classroom, teaching lessons no school could provide. Fishing, hunting, gathering turtle eggs, collecting shellfish, and living from the land were simply everyday life. Years later, Ernie would remember those days with affection, describing homemade biscuits, fried fish cooked in hog lard, wild berries, oysters, and evenings around a wood-burning stove. Though money was scarce, he believed they had “a pretty good life.”
Those early years shaped the resilience that defined the rest of his life.
Following high school, Ernie joined the United States Air Force, serving his country during the Korean War. Military service expanded his world beyond the Florida swamps and gave him the confidence to pursue a future that few would have imagined for a boy raised in the Everglades. After his service, he enrolled at the University of Florida, earning a degree in Accounting.
To help support himself while in school, he operated an apple cart on campus, becoming well known among students. A 1962 article in The Florida Alligator even featured his business, illustrating his determination and entrepreneurial spirit.
Armed with a degree and an unwavering work ethic, Ernie built a successful career as a Certified Public Accountant in Palm Beach County. In 1968, he settled in Jupiter, Florida, where he became a respected businessman and community leader. Over the next fifty-five years, he helped shape the growing Jupiter-Tequesta area, serving as president of both the Jupiter Chamber of Commerce and the Jupiter Rotary Club. His professional success reflected not only his intelligence but also the integrity with which he approached every endeavor.
Family remained at the center of his life.
In 1955, Ernie married Josephine Garcia, and together they welcomed three children: Ernest Eugene Jr., Mona Marie, and Karen Yvonne.
Later, in 1968, he married Nancy Bell Ripley, adopting her sons, Andrew Jay and David Lee, embracing them as his own. Together, Ernie and Nancy shared a life of adventure. Both earned their pilot’s licenses and spent years flying across the United States, exploring new places while creating lifelong memories together.
Yet numbers and business were only part of who he was.
Ernie possessed the heart of a storyteller.
Drawing deeply from his childhood in the Everglades, he authored eight novels, including Shark Point, as well as a memoir titled Mama, I Tried, which chronicled his remarkable journey from a boy growing up in the Florida wilderness to becoming one of Palm Beach County’s respected professionals. Beyond those books, he wrote eleven short stories, a volume of practical advice for future generations, and countless songs inspired by the people and places he loved.
Music filled his home as naturally as conversation. He loved to play guitar and sing for family and friends, entertaining them with original songs and stories drawn from a lifetime of unforgettable experiences. His quick wit became legendary. When people asked where he was born, he rarely answered directly. Instead, with a smile, he would say,
“I was born in the cane brake and raised by an old mama lion.”
It was classic Ernie—humorous, colorful, and unforgettable.
Behind the humor, however, was a man who never forgot where he came from. His grandfather, known as “King Gene” Hamilton, served as a deputy sheriff in the Everglades, and Ernie proudly carried forward that family’s deep connection to Florida’s frontier. The wilderness that shaped his youth remained woven through everything he wrote, sang, and taught.
As the years passed, Ernie became not only a father and grandfather but also a teacher of life. He believed deeply in perseverance, personal responsibility, and the conviction that difficult beginnings never determine a person’s destiny. His greatest hope was that his children and grandchildren would learn from both his successes and his failures, carrying forward the lessons he had learned through hard work and determination.
On April 8, 2023, Ernest Eugene Hamilton, Sr. passed away at his home in Jupiter at the age of ninety. Honoring the landscape that had shaped his earliest memories, his ashes were returned to the Florida Everglades—a fitting final resting place for a man whose heart never truly left the swamps and islands of his youth.
ERNIE SINGING HIS SONGS: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_WbILcEFlMY9qjhPRI2WVBHU3P6_Emzu
INTERVIEW: Ernie talking about growing up in the Everglades https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Kkpoon0jE
ERNIE’S NOVELS: https://exploringfloridahistory.org/2023/04/12/links-to-books-by-ernest-eugene-hamilton-sr/
Ernie’s legacy extends far beyond the books he wrote, the businesses he built, or the songs he sang. It lives in every story his family tells, every lesson they pass to the next generation, and every reminder that adversity can become opportunity when met with courage and perseverance.
He proved that a boy raised in the remote reaches of the Everglades could become a veteran, an accountant, an author, a songwriter, a pilot, a civic leader, and a beloved patriarch.
In many ways, his life embodied the American dream—not because success came easily, but because he earned it.
And perhaps his final message to those he loved is found in the simple farewell he often left behind:
“Keep on truckin’, Daddy.”
Happy Birthday! Love ya, Kat
