Obituary: Hansen, Robert Roy
Age 88
HANSEN, Robert Roy
(Age 88)
Robert “Bob” Roy Hansen was called home to be with his Lord and Saviour on November 6, 2012 closing the earthly portion of his life after 88 years.
Bob was born in Spokane, Washington on June 6, 1924 the youngest of three children born to Peter E. and Myrtle Hansen.
He received all of his primary education in Spokane, graduating from Lewis and Clark High School in May of 1942.
In 1943 Bob was drafted into the U.S. army and was stationed at Ft. Worth, Texas.
Due to a knee injury Bob was not sent oversea’s with the rest of his unit, but remained at Fort Worth serving as a company clerk.
He was honorably discharged in 1946.
After returning home from the army, Bob attended Whitworth Community College until he was accepted into the California College of Mortuary Science located in Los Angeles, California.
After graduating from CCMS in 1947, Bob returned to Spokane to begin his mortician’s career working for Hennessey Funeral Home.
While attending a function at First Presbyterian Church in Spokane, a beautiful young lady, by the name of Dorothy Harris, who was helping to decorate the church Christmas tree, caught his eye.
That first sighting grew into a friendship, which developed into a romance and they were married on July 17, 1948.
This marriage of 63 years, lasted until Dorothy passed away in February, 2012.
It was a marriage based on love, a shared faith, and the desire to work together in a true partnership.
In 1954, Bob and Dorothy, along with their two sons, Bruce and Dale moved to Grangeville, Idaho to work for Jess Robertson, owner of the Robertson Funeral Home.
In 1955, Bob and Dorothy added a daughter, Ann to the family.
The arrangement made in the move to Grangeville was for Bob to work for Mr. Robertson until he and Dorothy were able to buy into the business thus forming a partnership in what became the Robertson-Hansen Funeral Home.
When Mr. Robertson reached retirement age, Bob and Dorothy were able to purchase the Robertson portion of the business, which then became the Hansen Funeral Home.
In the mid 70’s Bob and Dorothy made the same kind of arrangement with Fred and Lila Nolan, taking Fred on as a partner who eventually purchased the entire business from Bob and Dorothy.
Although Bob was the licensed mortician, Dorothy was an important part of the business, helping in any capacity she could, but especially lending her book-keeping skills to the family business.
Bob had many interests and lived a full an active life.
He was a man with a strong faith in God and was an active member of Fourth Memorial Church before moving to Grangeville where they were members of the First Christian Church and then the Church of the Nazarene.
After retirement, when they moved to Spokane Valley, Bob and Dorothy became active members of the Spokane Valley Church of the Nazarene.
Bob was an active layman in the churches he attended, serving as a Bible study leader, and also singing in the church choirs and in a men’s quartet.
He and Dorothy also organized District Laymen’s retreats for the Northwest District of the Church of the Nazarene.
An important part of Bob’s life was his love for music.
He sang in choirs, ensembles, and every year, played his baritone in the Grangeville Border Days Cowboy Band.
In retirement he taught himself to play an electronic saxophone.
His love for music brought him hours of enjoyment.
In mid-life Bob was able to fulfill a life-long dream and was able to obtain his private pilot’s license.
He enjoyed flying for about 15 years until a medical condition forced him to give up flying.
But he remained active, traveling with Dorothy on short term mission trips with their church, ministering in over a dozen countries.
All his life, Bob loved to tell jokes.
He maintained a library of joke books and would always try to have a new joke to tell to a group of friends.
In his retirement years, Bob used this love for humor in a unique way, developing a stand-up comic routine that he would use at special functions.
He would combine his routine with his musical talent, and his faith to create a package that would entertain and inspire folks at these special functions.
Bob is survived by his three children, Bruce (Kay) of Ft. Worth, Texas, Dale (Marlene) of Rocky Mountain House, AB., Canada, and Ann (Richard) Wells of Moscow, Idaho.
He is also survived by six grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews.
Bob was preceeded in death by his wife Dorothy; his parents, Peter and Myrtle Hansen, one sister, Dode Burlingame; one brother, Jim Hansen; and one grandson, Craig Adamson.
A funeral service for Bob will be held Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 1 PM at the funeral home chapel with interment to follow at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
Please visit Bob’s on-line memorial at www.hennesseyfuneralhomes.com Arrangements entrusted to: