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Eleanor Walsh Wertimer, attorney, former executive director of Family Services of Greater Utica, and wife of Hamilton College Professor Emeritus Sidney Wertimer, Jr., was presented with Hamilton's top alumni award during Reunion Weekend festivities on Saturday, June 2.

The Bell Ringer Award recognizes exceptional service to Hamilton, its alumni and the community over the course of the recipient's lifetime. It was presented by George Baker '74, president of the Alumni Association.

A native of Buffalo and graduate of Smith College, Wertimer earned a law degree from the University of Buffalo. She came to Hamilton College in 1952 when her husband, Sidney Wertimer, Jr., was offered a faculty position in the Economics department. Since then she has opened her home to generations of Hamilton students and visiting alumni.  She worked as a law clerk to Court of Claims Judge John Gualtieri, and from 1976 to 1995 she served as town justice for the town of Kirkland. Wertimer was an attorney for the department of Social Services in Utica and she served for more than a decade as executive director of Family Services of Greater Utica.

She has been involved in community service as a member of numerous boards, including the Clinton School Board, the Children's Hospital, the Children's Museum, the YWCA, the Utica Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the Greater Utica Area United Way.
In 1997 Wertimer was the first woman to receive the Hugh R. Jones Award, presented by the Oneida County Bar Association, saluting the lawyer who has made outstanding contributions to the bar and community. She also received the YWCA Salute to Outstanding Women Award, and Business & Professional Women, Woman of the Year Award in 1998.

In addition to the presentation of the Bell Ringer award, the Reunion Weekend celebration at Hamilton included special class dinners and receptions, athletic contests, classes, meetings with the college president, a parade and the annual Alumni Service of Remembrance. Approximately 2,400 alumni and their families participated in the weekend's activities.

 

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