by Megan Schiffres
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or those born in the Kilmarnock area after 1983, there’s a good chance Dr. James Hamilton helped bring them into the world.
As an obstetrician-gynecologist affiliated with Bon Secours Rappahannock General Hospital (RGH), Hamilton has spent his career providing healthcare to women from puberty to menopause. After 35 years of caring for the community, Hamilton retired from his practice this month.
“You develop a very tight personal relationship with people over the years when you see them for a long time. So ending that is not an easy thing to do at all and I’m not really all that very happy about it, I just know it’s time,” said Dr. Hamilton, on his last day of work.
Before pursuing medicine, he worked as a Russian linguist for the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1973. He flew in reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea and Suez Canal, translating intercepted Russian communications during the Cold War.
Dr. Hamilton earned his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in 1973, and began practicing medicine in the Northern Neck after completing residency training…