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George Hamilton “Ham” Hauck

George Hamilton “Ham” Hauck '63

Sep. 11, 1941-May. 3, 2020

A lover of learning from his earliest school days, George Hamilton “Ham” Hauck ’63 was an attorney who spent his career steeped in education, whether in post-doctoral studies in international law, teaching as a law school professor, or guest lecturing.

“Ham was comfortable in the academic world,” his published obituary observed. “An early, voracious reader with tons of energy and ideas, he had to be kept engaged.”

Hauck, of the Santa Barbara, Calif., area, died on May 3, 2020. He was born into a military family on Sept. 11, 1941, in Seattle. His mother was Patricia ­Maginnis, and his father was Rear Adm. Hamilton Hauck.

Hauck graduated from Huntington High School on Long Island before entering Hamilton, where he pursued English literature and pre-med coursework. He joined Sigma Phi fraternity and performed with the Charlatans. After two years, Hauck left Hamilton to finish his degree at Occidental College in Pasadena, Calif. Even though he didn’t graduate from Hamilton, Hauck stayed connected to the College.

Over the years, he attended many of his Hamilton reunions and knew some of the alumni in the San Francisco area. He was an Annual Fund volunteer and helped with the special gifts program for Hamilton’s 175th anniversary campaign. To Hauck, Hamilton meant “training in ­rigorous study and thought, relieved by participation in theater and music, and a few close friendships.”

After graduating from college, Houck joined the U.S. Navy, went to Officers’ Candidate School in Rhode Island, and served in active or reserve capacity until 1975, some of that time spent on the coast of Vietnam, according to his published obituary. For his service, he received a National Defense and a Vietnam Service medal.

After he left the Navy, he worked in admissions at Occidental, married, and then entered Berkeley Law School, earning his degree in 1971. Most of his ensuing career was in academia. He did post­doctoral studies in international and comparative law as a Giannini Fellow in Law at the University of Florence, Italy, worked at a law firm, and then moved to Berkeley to teach law and serve as executive editor of the American Journal of Comparative Law.

During this time, his published obituary noted, he helped craft a treaty that resolved difficulties between Taiwan and China, and he co-authored a text on international law.

In 1974, Hauck began guest lecturing and teaching at various law schools, most recently at the University of Puget Sound. In 1990, he moved to San Francisco to be near his daughter and to establish his own law practice, where he worked until he retired.

Survivors include his daughter, two grandchildren, a sister, a brother, and nieces and nephews.

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