When the General Assembly was in session, Hamilton McWhorter would arrive at his state Capitol office at 7 a.m. and often wouldn’t leave until midnight.
As the “right hand” to four lieutenant governors, it was Mr. McWhorter’s job as Senate secretary to keep track of scores of proposed pieces of legislation going back and forth between the Senate and House chambers and eventually to the governor’s desk.
Mr. McWhorter’s extensive knowledge of parliamentary procedures and Georgia history, however, was just as prized by lawmakers as his managerial skills.
“He was one of the most important persons in Georgia politics and what has happened in the last century,” said former Lt. Gov. and Gov. Zell Miller. “He knew a great, great deal of Georgia history, and he knew a great, great deal about what ought to be done as we moved forward in this new century.”
Hamilton McWhorter Jr. of Atlanta died Tuesday at age 98. A graveside service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Clark Cemetery in Lexington, his hometown just south of Athens. Lord & Stephens East is in charge of arrangements.
Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered flags be flown at half-staff Saturday at the state Capitol until sunset in honor of Mr. McWhorter's public and military service.
Mr. McWhorter followed the legislative footsteps of his father, Hamilton McWhorter Sr., who was Senate president in 1933 and a former House member, and his great-grandfather, Robert Ligion McWhorter, who was House speaker from 1868 until 1870.
Mr. McWhorter was a presence in local and state politics for more than 55 years. He first served as a Senate parliamentarian from 1937 to 1938 after graduating from the University of Georgia Law School and then returned as a one-term senator from 1961 to 1962.
His longest stint in state government, however, was as Senate secretary beginning in 1967 and until his retirement in 1992. Senators elect a secretary every two years, and Mr. McWhorter never lost a vote.
He served under five governors and worked closely with two of them when they were lieutenant governor, Lester Maddox and Miller, a four-term lieutenant governor.
“We spent an awful lot of time together, and we were very close,” Miller told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There are very few people that I’ve known in my life that I have a higher regard for than Hamilton.”
Sen. George Hooks, D-Americus, remembered Mr. McWhorter as “a walking encyclopedia on Georgia history and the workings of state government.”
“He was a go-to person for what’s going on behind the scenes of state government,” Hooks said.
Alice Enright, Mr. McWhorter’s administrative assistant for 25 years, said he took his job seriously and his work ethic inspired others around him. “He made everyone around him want to do a good job,” she said.
In 2003, a Senate resolution marking Mr. McWhorter’s 90th birthday said his sound management throughout his tenure as secretary “enabled the lawmaking process of that body to flow more efficiently.”
Mr. McWhorter was as passionate about UGA as he was about the Senate. He received his undergraduate degree in 1934 and law degree in 1936. Until declining health slowed him down, he rarely missed a football game at his alma mater and was a fixture on the 54th row at Sanford Stadium, near the 50 yard line.
Helen Schroder, Mr. McWhorter’s niece, said he loved to travel after leaving the Senate, especially to UGA games.
Mrs. Schroder said her uncle was a very affectionate person who loved his family. He also loved his hometown of Lexington, where he and his brother and two sisters grew up and where Mr. McWhorter practiced law with their father. He was also city attorney, member of the City Council and attorney for Oglethorpe County.
When he finally announced in October 1992 that he was calling it quits, Mr. McWhorter, then 79, quipped to the AJC, "I believe some people can be of service after they're 75, but if I could vote on it, I wouldn't have them working for the government."
Not only was Mr. McWhorter a public servant, but he also served during and after World War II in the Military Intelligence Service.
Gov. Miller said Mr. McWhorter proved “you can make a real contribution without having to be known and making a lot of fuss. He did it quietly. He did it behind the scenes. He did it very effectively.”
At his death, Mr. McWhorter, who never married, lived at the Lenbrook retirement community in Buckhead. He is survived by nieces and nephews.
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