Rev. William A. Hamill, O.S.A. (1937 - 2023)

Rev. William A. Hamill, O.S.A., entered eternal life on May 2, 2023. He was 86 years old.

William Adrian Hamill was born on February 7, 1937, in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, to Rudolph A. and Mildred (Dickinson) Hamill. He was baptized on March 7, 1937, at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Okmulgee. He received the Sacrament of Confirmation on October 5, 1947, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hays, Kansas.

William earned his high school diploma in 1955 from Marquette High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1955 to 1957. He received a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1959 and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Tulsa in 1965.

From 1959-1965, William taught mathematics and was head football coach at Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa. He then spent a year working as an analyst for IBM on the NASA Apollo Program at the Manned Space Craft Center in Houston, TX, focusing on simulation of re-entry of an Apollo capsule.  

William sought admission into the Augustinian Order in 1966. He took part in the Latin Summer School at St. Augustine Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Because additional background in Latin and Philosophy was deemed necessary, he resided for a year at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Monastery in Olympia Fields, where he studied those two disciplines while teaching part-time at Tolentine College.

He was received into the Augustinian Novitiate on June 1, 1967. He professed simple (temporary) vows on September 4, 1968, and solemn (permanent) vows on September 4, 1971. While completing his priestly studies Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, he also taught mathematics at Tolentine College. He was ordained a priest on March 11, 1972.

Father Hamill taught at Cascia Hall Preparatory School from 1972-1997, where he also served as Assistant Headmaster, Director of Studies, Athletic Director, and Director of the Upper School.  During this time, he also worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Tulsa.  He went on sabbatical from 1997-1998, during which time he studied and taught at the University of Notre Dame, and then taught and conducted research at the University of Tulsa. In 1998, he was assigned to Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois, where he taught until 1999.

Father Hamill began doctoral work in Computer Science at the University of Tulsa in 1999 and lived at the Church of the Madelene in Tulsa. He also resumed teaching as a professor at the university. In 2000, he moved to Christ the King Church in Tulsa and then returned to Cascia Hall Monastery in 2001. He earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Tulsa in 2008.

After suffering a fall in September 2019, Father Hamill moved to rehab at Montereau Retirement Community and retired from the faculty of the University of Tulsa.  He stayed at Montereau as a resident in Assisted Living and then moved to Skilled Care in August 2022.  At the end of 2022, he moved to Trinity Woods Senior Living in Tulsa.  Father Hamill suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological condition. 

On May 2, 2023, Father Hamill peacefully passed to his eternal home.

Father Hamill will be fondly remembered for his many years of dedicated service to education and coaching, his sense of humor, and his incredible intellect.  He will also be remembered for his many years of ministry that impacted so many, especially at the Church of the Resurrection in Tulsa, where he offered pastoral assistance for almost 50 years.