John David Hamilton

John D. Hamilton, 82, of Concord, MA died Saturday, July 25. John Hamilton was driven by two powerful forces in his life: a voracious life of the mind and a physical life characterized by boundless energy. Both brought him immeasurable satisfaction and enabled him to make incredible contributions and connections throughout his life.

His life of the mind started early, with curiosity about the natural world in his beloved Carmel, CA, and Virginia; zeal for learning piano at an early age, a pursuit that became a lifelong passion; a scientist’s disciplined layering of concepts and ideas, from physics to biology to chemistry, voraciously reading every type of book, and at last to his study of medicine and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He could be counted on to engage with any idea his friends or family brought to him, and he loved learning about what interested others. His excitement and curiosity about the world was boundless, making it a fascinating place for him - and making him a fascinatingperson with whom to connect. He loved to apply what he learned, whether helping one of his child psychiatric patients resolve their anxiety or depression, advocating for evidence-based medicine, or simply understanding the world events of the day. In addition to his wife and family, his cohorts from Princeton and Harvard were also lifelong sources of friendship, inspiration, and intellectual companionship.

He passionately pursued improvement of systems and people, and loved to mentor, most recently with psychiatric residents at Cambridge Health Alliance. He lobbied for tracking outcomes in youth with mental health disorders.With cherished collaborators, he led efforts to create data and then study outcomes for adolescents with majordepression. One study he led showed the effectiveness of the Penn Optimism program in limiting depressive symptoms. He was a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and American Psychiatric Association. Anyone who experienced his care knows he was a skillful and empathetic therapist.

While he was of rare intellectual vitality, his life in the physical world was just as engaged. He and his wife, Paula, loved sailing out of Eel Pond in Woods Hole, walking while traveling in Europe and the U.S., and swimming laps in Boston-area pools. From caring for the hedges and yard in Nantucket and Concord, rowing during his Princeton years, playing basketball with his beloved grandchildren, to embarking on a recent walking trip in Italy with a friend,John’s energy and ability to enjoy the beauty and richness of the natural world were a source of delight throughout his life. He had the good fortune to see many places, but always took the most satisfaction from the interesting people he encountered in his travels.

His humor, discipline, kindness, and warmth touched the lives of many. While a tragic car accident claimed his lifeand his wife’s life at the same time, they were so closely connected that it would have been impossible to imagine either of them having to live without the other. John is survived by his stepchildren, Allison Webster (Andy Stromberg) and Pamela Webster (Ray Richardson); his grandchildren, Isabelle and Tess Stromberg and Marenaand Nalin Richardson (Kaitlyn Richardson); his niece, Lorri Hamilton; and a wonderful cohort of friends who enriched his life. John engaged with the world with extraordinary zest, and may it be so for the family and friends he inspired and loved.

A celebration of life will be scheduled for the fall.

Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, Concord, MA 01742  978-369-3388