Dance in Honor of Dave Hamilton

David Sidney James Hamilton died on April 21, 2025. He was a bright light and shared himself generously with everyone he met. Dave lived a vibrant life full of creativity and engagement with the world. Everyone he encountered felt his care and warm presence. As one person said, “To know David is to love David.”

Dave was born on July 21, 1986 at the old Park Ridge Hospital in Fletcher, NC, the youngest of Susie and Will Hamilton’s five children. He attended Fairview Elementary, Reynolds Middle and High, UNC-CH, and The Body Therapy Institute. A quiet and thoughtful child, Dave was always a deep observer. He loved to read and later became a gifted writer. A talented multi-instrumentalist, David played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and was also a songwriter. He brought many people together through music and song.

David was an advocate for sustainability, earth care, and social justice. At UNC-CH he helped start a sustainable food organization and garden. He later managed Anathoth Community Garden in Cedar Grove, NC. He also taught at The Body Therapy Institute and was passionate about the art of healing massage. After moving to Fairview he became an active board member of Root Cause Farm. Dave developed a passion for learning about the Cherokee legacy in WNC and became involved in the Noquisi initiative which is working to honor that tradition more deeply. His efforts to help with the creation of an historical land acknowledgment written in Cherokee at the Strawberry Gap trail on his family’s land recently came to fruition. After the floods from Hurricane Helene, Dave raised funds and purchased materials for a local trailer park that had extensive damage.

Dave was a healer who practiced massage and somatic therapy. He started making apple cider vinegar after moving to Fairview in January of 2020 with his wife Hayley. He tended many local apple trees and orchards. He was a gifted medicine maker and created all sorts of delicious and healing blends with local herbs which he shared generously. His passion for healing extended from people to the planet. David connected deeply with people throughout his life and had many dedicated friends from childhood through the last days of his life. His ability to behold a person was a special gift.

He loved his nieces and nephews and spent many hours coaching and driving them to sports and music lessons. Dave was a free spirit who loved to dance, create, and take in the world in all its grandeur. He was loved by many and will be missed deeply. David is survived by his sisters Annie Louise (Isaiah), Elizabeth (Fred), and Elspeth and his sister-in-law Molly. His nieces Sidney, Ivy, Anne, Evva and Florence. His nephews Carsten, Elijah, Hythe, David, Steven and Jedidiah. Also by Hayley and the Booterbaugh family and many dear cousins, Uncles, Aunts, and a multitude of friends. He is preceded in death by his parents Susie and Will and his brother William.

Contributions can be made to the Bigwitch Indian Initiative, and organize that was close to David’s heart.
https://www.bigwitchindianwisdom.org/ – donate here