Ted Hamrick was a simple man, who enjoyed the simple things in life: good fruit, good friends and Facebook.
“He loved him some Facebook,” said his twin brother Edward “Ed” Hamrick, of Duluth. “He’d be on it all of the time, checking on his friends.”
Taking care of friends and family was a big part of Ted Hamrick’s life, said his sister, Margaret Ellington, of Milton.
“If he knew somebody needed something, he would give it to them, if he had it,” she said. “He was just that kind of man.”
They said their brother was best known for the fruit stand he ran 20 years ago, that was once at the intersection of U.S. 23 and Ga. 120.
“He ran that stand for 20 years,” Mrs. Ellington said. “And about everybody that came through there knew him.”
When improvements came to the intersection, the fruit stand was torn down, but their brother’s fruitful spirit remained.
“From then on, he just helped other people,” Mrs. Ellington said.
Terry Eugene Hamrick, of Duluth, died Friday from injuries sustained in a fall. Ted, as he was known by friends and family, was 63. He served in the U.S. Army and was a member of the Duluth Masonic Lodge No. 480. Mr. Hamrick's body was cremated. Bill Head Funeral Homes and Crematory, Duluth Chapel, was in charge of arrangements.
No official services were held, at Mr. Hamrick’s request, his brother and sister said.
“He told us he wanted to be cremated and to keep it simple, don’t make a big fuss,” Mrs. Ellington said. “So we just invited some friends to the funeral home to visit with us Sunday, but there was no service.”
Karen Harris said “that sounds just like Ted,” referring to her friend's request for no service. She said Mr. Hamrick was always doing something for other people, but didn’t want credit for his good deeds.
“He’d pick me up and take me anywhere I needed to go, because I don’t drive” Ms. Harris said. “And when I’d try to give him a little piece of money for it, he’d always refuse it. So I’d have to get tough with him before he’d take it.”
Ms. Harris was a child when Mr. Hamrick had his fruit stand, but she remembered him when he became a regular at the Family Restaurant in Duluth, where she works. During the week, Mr. Hamrick could be seen watching over Ms. Harris as she opened up the restaurant at 4 a.m.
“He’d sit here with me until the customers started rolling in,” she said. “He didn’t want me to be here by myself, and I could talk to him, like a dad almost.”
She said her biological father is in a nursing home, so having Mr. Hamrick was the next best thing.
“I sure am going to miss him,” she said. “Who am I going to talk to now?”
Mr. Hamrick is also survived by two children; sister, Mary Hughes of Canton; brothers, Tommy Hamrick of Loganville, Richard Hamrick of Duluth, and Tim Hamrick of Sugar Hill; and two grandchildren.
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