Founder of renowned Angel Drill Team dies
Gurnee resident Nathaniel Hamilton is being remembered for a life of service that included the Navy, public education and his founding of the nationally renowned Angel Drill Team.
Hamilton died Tuesday after a lengthy illness, friends said.
Donna Dallas, an administrative assistant and deputy clerk for the village of Gurnee, said Hamilton was a disciplinarian who instilled punctuality, respect for authority, self-esteem and determination in Angel Drill Team members. Dallas was on Hamilton's first squad in 1967.
"The chief was like a mentor and a friend," Dallas said Wednesday, "and a lot of what I am today, I owe to the chief."
A retired Navy senior chief and drill instructor, Hamilton ended the Lake County group after 44 years in September 2011. Angel Drill Team was the only all-girl synchronized rifle tossing and twirling marching champion in the United States.
Hamilton, who also had a career as a teacher and administrator at two Lake County school districts, led Angel Drill Team to 23 national championships and four international titles, along with more than 700 trophies and citations. The Angels marched in President Barack Obama's inaugural parade in Washington in 2009.
Dallas said Hamilton's legacy will be a life of service to others.
"Most Angels have become very successful in life because of him," she said.
Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik and the village board approved a proclamation that officially recognized Hamilton upon his retirement from the Angel Drill Team. Hamilton wasn't present when he was honored last August, but he thanked village officials at a meeting a month later.
"He really was a hero with the influence he had on so many young women," Kovarik said.
Kovarik worked on projects with Hamilton over the years, such as the Pennies for Pearl Harbor fundraiser at Gurnee schools in 2007. Money went toward a private campaign to fund a new Pearl Harbor visitors center and museum.
In his 20-year naval career, Hamilton was sent to the Vietnam War five times. Hamilton also was on a recovery force that picked up astronaut John Glenn after he became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962.
Two years after he came to Great Lakes Naval Station in 1965, Hamilton started the Angel Drill Team. More than 2,000 Lake County girls were Angels during the group's 44 years.
Hamilton also became known for his huge collection of multicultural materials that he brought to area schools in hopes of raising awareness. Among the thousands of items are a Martin Luther King Jr. board game, books about the military and a newspaper printed on the day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
Languages, culture origins and greetings from around the world were part of his visits. In a Daily Herald interview, Hamilton said he traveled extensively around the world and obtained many posters through contacts at the United Nations.
Kovarik said Hamilton asked her a few months ago about finding a suitable place to house his mammoth collection. She said a permanent spot in Gurnee would be a fitting tribute to Hamilton.
"It's definitely something that needs to be preserved and displayed somewhere," she said.
Visitation for Hamilton will be 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Marsh Funeral Home, 305 N. Cemetery Road in Gurnee. A funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Marsh.