Jeanette Smith Hamilton, age 86, died on Thursday, January 8, 2015. Mrs. Hamilton was born in Eastman and grew up on Morgan Street. She attended school at Peabody where she was an active student and athlete. After graduating top of her class in 1945, she attended Spelman College in Atlanta. After returning to Eastman she became a teacher and would gain her license as a funeral director.
She would later become one of the few African American women business owners in both Eastman and Georgia when she became the proprietor of the family business, Hamilton Burch Funeral Home.