Donald Bruce Hanson

AMES, Iowa — Donald Bruce Hanson was born Aug. 3, 1925, at the family farm near Jamestown, Kan., to Andy Peter and Mildred Walker Hanson. He died Monday, July 12, 2010, at Israel Family Hospice House, Ames, after a long illness.
He attended Salt Marsh School, District No. 93, near his home and graduated from Jamestown High School. He made public affirmation of Christian faith on Nov. 12, 1938. He planted his first wheat in the fall of 1943 and continued farming until 1984, when he retired from farming and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Marymount College in Salina, Kan. He worked for 10 years as a psychiatric nurse.
In 1949 he married his childhood sweetheart, Patricia Ann Peterson. They celebrated more than 58 years of marriage.
Mr. Hanson contributed to community health and education in many ways. He helped establish Cloud County (Kan.) Community College, serving as vice president on its board of trustees, and he served on the board of St. Joseph Hospital, Concordia, Kan., as well as other health and education boards. He was active in state and national Masonic organizations, serving as Grand Commander of Knights Templar of Kansas. With Patricia, he helped to establish an annual trip to the Holy Land for Kansas pastors and their spouses, a Masonic-sponsored legacy which endures to this day. He and Patricia enjoyed traveling to Masonic and Eastern Star gatherings around the country. In the early ’70s, he hosted a popular radio program.
Don and Pat are the parents of Dr. Louis Hanson (Julie Tate), of Durham, Maine; Dr. Rebecca Hanson Richardson (Harry Richardson), of Shrewsbury, Mass.; the Rev. Rachael Hanson, of St. Paul, Minn.; and Sr. Aemiliane of the Holy Monastery of the Twelve Apostles, of Karditsa, Greece; eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Mr. Hanson was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Patricia, on Jan. 8, 2008; granddaughter, Amy Leigh Hanson Richardson; older brothers, Louis, Clarke and Joe; and his parents.
Visitation of family and friends: 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at Bergen Lutheran Church, Roland. Funeral service: 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 16, 2010, at Bergen Lutheran Church in Roland. Viewing: 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 17, at Chaput-Buoy Funeral Home, Concordia. Burial: 11 a.m. in Danish Lutheran Cemetery, Jameston. Memorial service: 3 p.m. Saturday at Ada Lutheran Church, north of Courtland, Kan. Memorials: Danish Lutheran Saron Baptist Cemeteries Foundation. Soderstrum Funeral Home, Roland, is assisting the family with arrangements in Iowa. Chaput-Buoy Funeral Home, Concordia, is handling arrangements in Kansas.