William Harold Hampton, or Harold as he’s always been called, was born on September 30th, 1949 in Waynesville, North Carolina to Bill and Nell Hampton and passed away in Tillamook on August 20, 2024. He joined the family as the second child, brother to his older sister Mary, and was the only son in a big family of strong women.
When Harold was 5, his father, who was a logger working alongside his own father in a family outfit in North Carolina, traveled west to Oregon and sent word back that “the trees are huge here in Oregon.”
Harold’s mother and grandmother sold their belongings, boarded a train and headed west with their families to meet their husbands and landed in Carlton, OR.
Over the next couple years, the family welcomed three more daughters, Margaret, Sharon and Melissa, and they moved from place to place until they put down real roots in Bay City, OR.
Harold attended Bay City Grade School and graduated from Neah-Kah-Nie High School in the class of 1969. He served as the Treasurer of the student council, which he was always proud of. After high school, Harold worked different jobs, but at 19, found his true calling working in the woods as a logger, alongside his father, as so many of those before him. He loved working outdoors and valued a hard day’s work.
When he was 24 years old, he walked into the “Big Cheese”, now the Rendezvous, and as the song, “Long Cool Woman” by the Hollies came on, he noticed a woman dancing. He watched her as she danced and then turned to his buddy and said, “I’m gonna marry that womanl”. He walked over to her, asked her for a dance and…. sure enough, he proposed only months after – when the Ferris Wheel was at the top position at the Tillamook County Fair.
Harold and Dianne Hampton married on April 26, 1975. She was a Tillamook girl and he was a Bay City boy. They bought a house in Tillamook where they raised their three daughters: Kathe, Jess and Ashley. Harold and Dianne also helped to raise a lot of their girls’ friends, and their house was always a home for everyone.
If you knew Harold, you know that he was probably one of the funniest people you’ve ever met. He was kind and he was fair. He was a great friend and the best Dad. He was a proud logger, who taught us about trees and nature and, in his later years, raised countless hummingbird and bird families, in his birdhouses and feeders. He gave us jokes until the moment he couldn’t speak. He was a great man and he was built from a mold that will be difficult to recreate.
Harold was preceded in death by his beloved wife of over 45 years, Dianne Hampton, and his father, Bill Hampton, and Mother, Nell Hampton. He is survived by his daughters and their spouses; Kathe Hampton-Huntsman and Steve Huntsman, of Salem, Jess Hampton and Daven Stetson of Eugene, and Ashley Hampton and Chris Medberry of Portland. Harold is also survived by his cherished grandchildren, Cody Dummer of Tillamook, Shelbey Dummer of Salem, and Nola Hampton-Bradley of Eugene. Harold also had the great joy of welcoming his first great-grandchild into the family, Leo Dummer. Harold was beloved by his surviving sisters; Mary Thomas, Margaret Gollon, Sharon Griffin and Melissa Hampton, and all the nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins and friends who loved him so much. In his last years, he adopted his adored dog, Reese, who brought him endless joy and love. Reese will join Harold’s daughter, Ashley’s family, as a brother to their dog, Birdie.
In lieu of flowers, the Hampton Family is accepting donations that will help to fund a memorial bench in honor of Harold and Dianne Hampton: https://gofund.me/368da20e
Service will be held Saturday, August 31, 2024 at 1:00PM, Waud’s Funeral Home, 1414 Third Street, Tillamook
