William Hampton Obituary

Hampton
William "Bill" LeRoy
Hampton
May 23, 1930
August 15, 2025

William ("Bill") LeRoy Hampton of Colorado Springs, CO passed away peacefully in his sleep on 15 Aug 2025. Bill was 95 years old. He lived a life of consequence, and there can be no higher praise. He had a great sense of personal responsibility, and sought to make his family happy and enable their dreams.

Bill was born 23 May 1930 in Des Moines, Iowa to Wallace B. Hampton and Mary C (Hardin) Hampton. He was the first of three Hampton children, and was preceded in death by both his parents, his younger sister Mary "Cathy" C. (Hampton) Ditmore of Massachusetts, and his younger brother Kendall "Ken" B. Hampton of Colorado. Bill attended Hubble Grade School, and graduated from Roosevelt High School (1948). He attended Harvard University for 3 ½ years (Class of 1952), then graduated from University of Iowa with his Bachelor of Arts (General Science) in February 1953. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Bill had a 37-year career at Eaton/Cutler-Hammer Corporation as an Electrical/Product Engineer before retiring September 1990. In Milwaukee, he met his wife of 70 years, Marie Gene Stevens, daughter of Eugene Stevens and Ethel (Rechcygl) Stevens (both deceased). They lived in Brookfield Wisconsin from 1957-1992. Bill and Marie Gene were active members of Brookfield Congregational Church and the Milwaukee South Shore Yacht Club. Bill fulfilled his joy of sailing in the 80s and early 90s in his Hunter 33 sailboat CAPRICE with many friends and relatives.

After retiring from Eaton/Cutler-Hammer, Bill bought a small Computer Sales & Repair business in Naples, Florida, and moved there with Marie Gene in 1992 while enjoying summers in Colorado. Eventually they sold the computer business, and in 2004 moved to the Village of Skyline retirement community in Colorado Springs, Colorado, joining the Manitou Springs Community Congregational Church. In Colorado, Bill was the President and CEO of Hampton Farms Inc (HFI), a small family farm (S-Corp) in Webster City, Iowa (Hamilton County). While leading HFI, he designed, prototyped, tested, patented, and installed a Silo Ventilation and Drying Control System. He retired from HFI in 2019.

William L Hampton is survived by his loving wife of 70 years, Marie Gene (Stevens) Hampton, of Colorado Springs. He is also survived by his daughter Ruth Anne (Hampton) Gibson, Ruth's husband Casey B. Gibson of Colorado Springs, CO, as well as by his son Captain Stephen W. Hampton (USN, Ret) and his wife Teresa S. (Beasley) Hampton of Gallatin, TN, his granddaughter Cassandra (Hampton) Slike and her husband Curtis Slike of Hendersonville, TN, and his granddaughter Carlie Hampton of Richmond, VA. Bill and Marie Gene also have two surviving and greatly loved great-granddaughters; Camryn ("Cami") Rose Slike and Madelyn ("Madi") Virginia Slike.

A simple celebration of Bill's life will be held starting at 1230, 29 September 2025, at the Swan-Law Funeral Directors, 501 N Cascade Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. Internment will be at 1200, 21 October 2025, at Pinelawn Memorial Park, 10700 West Capital Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53222.

In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial donations in his name (William L Hampton) to the American Red Cross (https://www.redcross.org/donate/memorial-donations.html/), or the National Parks Foundation (https://give.nationalparks.org).