Ottis "O.Q." Hamilton

Ottis Quincey Hamilton, age 96, of Choctaw Beach, Florida, passed away on February 7, 2025, surrounded by his three daughters.

Born in Portland, Florida, he was raised in Niceville, where he graduated from Niceville High School. He played football there, a sport he continued to enjoy as a lifelong fan. An avid gardener, he was already planning his spring vegetable garden at the time of his passing. He also loved fishing and hunting, passions he shared with his wife of more than 70 years, Wynona Jennings Hamilton.

Known to family and friends as O.Q., he was a plasterer by trade. When work became scarce in North Florida in the late 1950s, he and Wynona moved to Orlando, where he worked on residential and commercial buildings throughout Central Florida. He was especially proud to serve as job foreman for NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. He later joined Walt Disney World’s Buena Vista Construction as a scenic artist, helping to construct Main Street, U.S.A., including the railroad station, as well as the Contemporary Resort, Swiss Family Treehouse, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and several EPCOT pavilions.

Upon retirement, he and Wynona returned to North Florida, where they enjoyed hunting, fishing, traveling, and family genealogy research. One of their most memorable hunting trips was to South Africa, where he successfully hunted kudu and duiker antelope. They also visited England, where he famously remarked that the British “talked funny” and that he couldn’t understand them. O.Q. always maintained a large garden and became a beekeeper and winemaker. He also earned his real estate license and served as a Walton County road commissioner.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lula Boone and Rufus Hamilton; his ten siblings; and his wife, Wynona. He is survived by his daughters and their husbands: Vivian Hamilton (Dan Frerich), Anise Wight (Edd), and Teresa Johnson (Harvey). He also leaves behind four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A private service is planned.

It was O.Q.'s wishes that in lieu of flowers, a contribution be made to the Niceville Church of Christ. 

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