Mary H. Chamberlain

Our mother, Mary H. Chamberlain, of Bloomington, age 90, passed away at 8:22 p.m. on December 19, 2022 at Brookdale Senior Living in Bloomington. She was born Mary Margaret Hamilton on November 12, 1932 in Louisville, KY and was the daughter of William W. and Mattie Belle (Farrell) Hamilton. She was the seventh of nine Hamilton children and always proudly asserted she survived arriving during the worst year of the Great Depression. For our extended family Mom’s passing was the end of an historic era. She was the last of nine siblings to pass and was preceded in death by her brothers Bill, Bob, Allen, Eddie and Walter, and sisters Helen Majors, Marty Martin and Ellie Schweickhardt. Remarkably, she leaves in excess of a hundred Hamilton family members who loved and enjoyed socializing with her upon her retirement. Our Mom and her family were extremely proud of the athletic accomplishments of her talented brothers. Bill (basketball) and Bob (football) were key varsity players under the legendary Tony Hinkle at Butler University, Allen and Eddie starred in football for the all-time coaching great Paul “Bear” Bryant at University of Kentucky, while Walter was a MVP baseball player at University of Louisville. Mom beamed when Coach Bryant greeted her as “Little Ham” whenever he saw her about campus while she attended UK! Our Mom met the love of her life, Philip C. Chamberlain, when by chance he visited Louisville on a weekend getaway while stationed at nearby Ft. Knox. And it truly must have been “love at first sight” (for Dad at least) since he asked Mom to get married on their second date. Naturally Mom – who throughout life was never shy to say exactly what was on her mind – was very unimpressed and said NO! Ultimately, on May 5, 1962, Mary and Phil had a storybook wedding in London, England after Dad finished up his PhD dissertation research in the United Kingdom. The newlyweds first settled in Louisville where Mom resumed her business career at Dixie Warehouse & Cartage while Dad eventually became Director of Admissions for the University of Louisville. The owner of Dixie, Robert Rounsavall, a highly successful and charismatic businessman, always told Mom she was the BEST Executive Secretary he ever had! Not long after marrying, the Chamberlains had two children, Philip “Pip” H. Chamberlain and Anne L. Chamberlain. In the summer of 1966 a life changing professional opportunity arose when Phil was offered a faculty position in IU’s School of Education. So in September of 1966, the family moved to Bloomington and purchased one the the first homes built in Sycamore Knolls Subdivision nearby Childs School. After settling in town our Mom focused all of her energy and attention to becoming the best mother she could possibly be. In fact, Pip’s refrain in later life – when comparing her and Dad to television’s iconic Ward & June Cleaver – was that his parents were “much better”! Since Mom was among the pioneering women who worked outside the home before the women’s liberation movement, Anne still cherishes the vinyl copy of Helen Reddy’s song “I Am Woman” she received from her mother one Christmas in the 1970’s. After her kids started college Mom became Executive Director of IU’s University Club located in the IMU. As an organizer and net-worker she was a natural for this challenging position, and it allowed her an opportunity to meet many interesting and diverse IU faculty members. For many years Mom and Dad served as faculty mentors for residents at Briscoe Quad. Mom also enjoyed the friendships she made in her Investment Club, was a longtime volunteer with Psi Iota Xi, and even organized and led Pip’s 1980 South post-prom event. Our Mom had many interests, passions and hobbies in life. She was a voracious reader and regularly consumed 25-50 books annually. She greatly enjoyed attending IU football and basketball games (especially during the Coach Knight era when Dad operated the shot clock). For decades she played bridge and co-owned a pontoon boat with 5 other couples which provided many lifelong memories. And even to appease Dad (a golf captain at Army and scholastic player-of-the-year in Connecticut), she even endured the confounding sport of golf! But foremost on Mom’s list of enjoyable activities were traveling, entertaining and socializing with countless friends and her family. For over 30 years she and Dad were part of a local “gourmet club” which hosted monthly dinners at each member’s homes. Mom and Dad also vacationed twice or more per year in Caribbean settings and foreign countries. Being a Kentucky gal Mom held an annual Derby Party when first moving to Indiana, hosted an annual IU Opera outing for her living siblings, and after Dad passed, she and a small group of friends would travel each year to New York City to watch a slew of Broadway shows. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings, and her husband Phil who passed away on October 15, 2003. She is survived by her daughter Anne Ledger Chamberlain and her son Pip, his wife Callie, and her two precious grandchildren, Tyler and Danielle, all of Bloomington. A tremendous salute and thank you is due Brookdale where Mom happily resided since the spring of 2020. She received extraordinary care and genuine love and affection from its dedicated staff. For this kindness and professionalism the Chamberlain family will be forever grateful. The memorial service will be at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Bloomington on Friday, January 13th at 10:00a.m. A visitation is scheduled for Thursday, January 12th from 4:00-7:00pm at Allen Funeral Home located at 4155 South Old State Road #37 in Bloomington, and friends are also welcome to visit the family from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. before the funeral service held at St. Paul’s. A private graveside service will be held in the spring at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Louisville, KY. Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with family and friends at www.allencares.com

Tributes

Mary H. Chamberlain

November 12, 1932 - December 19, 2022