Eric Sean Hamilton

Eric Sean Hamilton, 55, of West New York, New Jersey, passed away January 25, 2021. We take comfort in the hope that he will be reunited with his precious familiar feline, Merlin, in a happier place over the rainbow.

Born January 19, 1966, in Springfield, Illinois, "The Land of Lincoln" he would proudly proclaim when asked the town from which he hailed. Eric graduated from Sacred Heart - Griffin High School in Springfield, Illinois and attended Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1988. He was a talented artist who loved to work in water colors and aspired to be an illustrator. He was exceedingly gratified to secure his first professional position in New York City at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), where he felt he married his love of art and film with his career discipline in the service of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and was rewarded with an office in his favorite skyscraper The Empire State Building. He was fluent in French and excelled in computer technology. Following a brief course of study in coding, he made the transition to web designer for such prominent enterprises as Iwon.com and FortuneCity.com before joining Conde Nast Publications, where he became a lead developer for the celebrated epicurious.com and thrilled to secure an office in One World Trade.

Eric enjoyed cooking and grilling -- many recipes from his popular website -- as well as container gardening, particularly, fresh herbs, to incorporate into his choice dishes. He loved fine dining and travel with architecture, aquariums and botanical gardens as his preferred excursions. Adventuring in the great outdoors was a frequent pastime with a passion for biking, blading, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling and swimming in addition to occasional horseback riding, jet skiing, parasailing and sailing. He loved his little country cabin, "Smallwood Stock" in Sullivan County Catskills, where he indulged himself with all of his favorite things and completed his petit chef-d'oeuvre -- a trompe l'oeil mountain sky painted on the ceiling of the master bedroom loft in the style of Salvador Dali with a stunning glow-in-the-dark star constellation inspired by the Grand Central Terminal Celestial Ceiling. As a pet lover and hobbyist, Eric loved cats, dogs and his breathtaking coral reef tank. He was a master LEGO builder, having constructed nearly all of the monuments of the LEGO Architecture and Space Series. An avid reader, he adored Agatha Christie and Terry Pratchett, English humorist, satirist and author of fantasy novels especially comical works - the UK's best-selling author of the 90's, best known for his Discworld Series. Eric loved art, theatre, dance and music, from classical and opera to jazz, rock and his favorite 80's classics with great devotion to David Bowie. He was an ardent Sci-Fi fan, obsessed with Star Trek and William Shatner and the BBC Doctor Who series. Eric fancied himself as one of the The Doctors and was the most dashing in his 12th Doctor Who Blue Waistcoat, by which he was seemingly transformed. He will be sorely missed by those whose lives he touched.

Eric was predeceased by his father, Lonnie Hamilton and step-father, Billy Thomas "Topper" Hurst. He is survived by: his beloved partner and life-long companion of 25 years, Anthony Cinelli of West New York, NJ; his mother, Marilyn Hurst of Sarasota, FL; his siblings Tracey Fitzgerald and Kirk Hamilton of Sarasota, FL and Lonna Donaghue (husband Frank) of Hershey, PA; nephews and nieces: Sean Fitzgerald, Riley Hamilton, Kelly Ditterline (husband Chris), Keegan Hamilton, and Jack Donaghue, Grace Donaghue and Kara Donaghue. He is also survived by his familiar Korat (Greebo), other extended family and many friends.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday June 19, 2021 2:00 pm at the Second Reformed Church of Hackensack, NJ  07601.  For more information, please call (917) 656-4603.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations in memory of Eric Sean Hamilton be made to the New Jersey Humane Society https://www.newjerseyhumanesociety.org.

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