Hamilton mayor, former Harris County Teacher of the Year, dies at 75
Hamilton Mayor Rebecca “Becky” Chambers has died at age 75.
Chambers led the Harris County city of around 1,100 residents for 16 years and was honored as the school district’s Teacher of the Year during her three decades at the middle school.
She died on Jan. 18 at home, according to Cox Funeral Home.
Her funeral will be at 3 p.m. Jan. 22 in Hamilton United Methodist Church.
Hamilton Mayor Pro Tem Julie Brown told the Ledger-Enquirer that Chambers was diagnosed with lung cancer less than two months ago.
Brown, who has been a city councilor for six years, called Chambers “very generous” with her time as mayor, which is a part-time job in Hamilton.
“She always looked out for the city first and foremost,” Brown said.
Chambers had been a city official since 1992, first as a councilor before she became mayor in 2004. During that time, Brown said, Chambers was part of the leadership that helped double the city’s population from around 500 in the 1980s.
“She was a very hands-on mayor, in the office a lot, around town checking on things.”
Chambers made a big deal about Georgia Cities Week every April, Brown said.
“We hold a breakfast for the city’s merchants because, as Becky would say, without them we would have no city,” she said.
Chambers wrote letters to residents encouraging them to support the mayor’s motorcade each December, bringing gifts to West Central Georgia Regional Hospital. She also boosted the Christmas display in the city square by getting lights and characters set up, Brown said.
“She was pushing it,” Brown said.
Chambers treated city employees to birthday lunches and Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, Brown said.
And children who knocked on her door to sell stuff for a fundraiser never went away disappointed, Brown said.
“She was a very sweet person,” Brown said. “… She had lots of things she didn’t need, but she bought them anyway.”
Brown will serve as mayor until Chambers’ successor is determined in a special election. That election won’t be scheduled until the four-member city council votes on it during the next monthly meeting in February, she said, but the date probably will be May 19, during the state primary and local nonpartisan election.
The qualifying period for candidates is tentatively set for the first week of March, along with the county’s other nonpartisan offices, said Harris County elections supervisor Sherrail Jarrett.
Chambers was instrumental in developing the district’s middle school concept as well as implementing project-based learning, said HCSD spokeswoman Rachel Crumbley. She also was responsible for earning a grant to support recycling at the school, Crumbley said.
“Our prayers go out to her family and loved ones,” Crumbley said.
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 1:07 PM.
