Roland Thornhill Hamner IV, known to nearly everyone as Beau, passed away on August 30, 2026, at the age of 45. Born on May 13, 1981, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Beau lived a life marked by faith, compassion, creativity, humor, and an extraordinary love for people.
His faith was at the center of his life. Beau attended Southern Wesleyan University, where he earned a degree in Christian Ministries with a minor in Youth Ministry. He loved Jesus, but he never wanted his faith to stay inside the walls of a church. He believed following Jesus meant loving people, serving others, and especially caring for those who were often overlooked or forgotten.
That belief gave him a particular heart for “the least of these.” Throughout his life, he was drawn to people who were hurting, misunderstood, or simply needed someone to see them. He had an unusual ability to look beyond a person’s circumstances and see the person underneath. People didn’t need to have their lives together before he loved them. He simply loved them where they were.
That call took he and his family to many places and introduced them to people and cultures that became an important part of their lives. Through ministry and partnership/development trips; they traveled to Mexico City, where Beau developed a deep love for its people and culture. Mexico became much more than a place they visited; in many ways, it became another home. His travels also took him to China and Sierra Leone, two other places that held a special place in Beau’s heart. These experiences became part of their family’s story as they followed the calling Beau carried-to go where people were, build relationships, serve others, and share the love of Jesus.
Over the years, that journey carried Beau and his family from; Millsboro, Delaware; Cherryville, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and ultimately Marion, Indiana. His work with College Wesleyan Church became an important part of that journey. As the Mission and Outreach Pastor, he and his family came to Indiana, and the church provided an avenue for him to live out the calling already rooted in his heart. Together, they embraced opportunities to build relationships, serve others, and take the love of Jesus into the community.
Most recently, Beau worked at Outreach Indiana, serving young adults experiencing homelessness. Earlier in his ministry Mission: Possible! provided him with the opportunity to serve the homeless through Church Under the Bridge, meeting people exactly where they were. Whether through ministry, work, or everyday relationships, Beau listened, showed up, served, laughed, and sat with people in hard places. He saw the person first, welcomed people without judgment, and believed everyone had value. He had a way of making room for people who weren’t sure they belonged anywhere else.
If you knew Beau, you knew he was not interested in doing things simply because they had always been done that way. He was creative, funny, deeply caring, a little unconventional, and completely unapologetic about being himself. He was a husband, father, brother, and son who loved deeply and made room for others to be themselves, too. A jokester with a unique sense of humor and a willingness to walk his own path, Beau expressed himself through his tattoos, his art, and especially his love of pottery. His father, Roland, first passed that love on to him, and Beau later shared it with his daughter, Cambria-a father teaching his son to create with his hands, and that son teaching his daughter.
In so many ways, Beau spent his life creating: pottery with his hands, community among people who needed it, friendships with those who felt like outsiders, and a sense of belonging for people who desperately needed to know they mattered. He didn’t simply tell people about the love of Jesus; he tried to show them what it looked like.
Other than God, nothing meant more to Beau than his family. His children, Cambria and Arlo, were the light of his life. He loved them fiercely, was incredibly proud of them, and treasured being their father.
Beau is survived by his wife, Gidget Hamner; his children, Cambria and Arlo; his mother, Trisha Hamner Green; his father, Roland Thornhill Hamner III; his sisters, Kerri Massey and her daughter, Megan Massey; and Jennifer Gilbert (Bryan) and their son, Isaiah Beni; along with extended family and the many friends who became family along the way.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Burt and Dorothy Burgess, lovingly known as Papa and Nana, and his paternal grandparents, Roland Thornhill Hamner II and Mary Hamner, known as Grandaddy and Grandmother.
His story does not end with his death. It lives on in Cambria and Arlo, in the pottery he made, in the people he served, in the friends who will carry his stories with them, and in every person who was made to feel seen, accepted, valued, or loved because he was there.
He will be deeply missed and forever remembered.
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Outreach at www.outreachindiana.org or P.O. Box 11416, Indianapolis, IN 46201.
Family and Friends may gather Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 4:00 PM at College Wesleyan Church for a memorial service, 200 E 38th St, Marion, IN 46953.
Arrangements are entrusted to Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral & Cremation Service, North Chapel, 1341 N. Baldwin Ave., Marion, IN.
Memories may be shared online at www.nswcares.com.
To send flowers to the family of Roland “Beau” Hamner IV, please visit our floral store.