Hamilton Clare Scharff

Hamilton (Ham) C. Scharff, 93, passed away peacefully on May 2, 2020 in Delaware, Ohio. Formerly of Portage and Kalamazoo, Ham relocated to Delaware in 2019 to be closer to his son Kenton and his family. Born in Chicago, Ham was a World War II veteran and retired from The Upjohn Company. A favorite pastime was coaching his son Kent in a variety of sports, but especially soccer, where he is credited with bringing organized soccer to Portage and served as the first coach of Portage Central High School's club soccer team. An active member of the United Methodist Church of Kalamazoo until he moved to Ohio, Ham also served on the Board of Directors of Heritage Community of Kalamazoo for many years. A larger than life presence (both literally and figuratively) he will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Ham was preceded in death by his beloved Alice (Grant-Watters), his parents Walter and Mildred, his brother Walt and sister-in-law Myra, and his brother-in-law Colin Grant-Watters and sister-in-law Donna Grant-Watters. He is survived by his son Kenton (Maureen), his grandchildren Samuel, Felipe and Elena, his nephews Gary Scharff and Steve Grant-Watters, and niece Patricia Miller. A memorial service and celebration of Ham's life will be held in Kalamazoo later this year. Please visit Ham's personalized online guestbook at https://www.langelands.com