Obituary: Hanson, Harford “Hans”
Age 86
He was born September 22, 1929 in Northwood, ND with no hospital for miles.
Harford’s strong work ethic started at an early age.
He would come home from school as a little boy, stock the stove with wood, heat up the house and begin to prepare dinner while both of his parents were working.
As an only child, his comedic timing surfaced and kept everyone entertained.
Harford spent his summers working on the farm.
When his family moved to Spokane, he began to work at Western Pine.
Hans made quick friends, mostly girls when he started high school.
Shortly after high school he would attend city dances and that’s where he met Dona.
She fell for him immediately and waited for their first dance.
He approached her and said, “Would you like to dance?”
Dona said, “Yes.”
Harford responded by saying, “I’ll see if I can find someone for you.”
They never looked back and were married for 61 years.
Dona said the reason they lasted so long was because they took separate vacations!
Hans went on to bartend at Slim’s Tavern at night and deliver milk in the early mornings for Carnation.
He wanted to provide a good life for his two children.
Later, he would work for B & B Distributors and finally Joey August for almost 19 years until his retirement in 1989.
He was a proud member of Teamsters Local 690.
He was a huge advocate for the military as he fought as a Marine in the Korean War.
There he received two purple hearts.
Wonderful memories of side splitting laughter at the dinner table, drives out to the lake in his 67 Impala, fishing as the sun begins to set and beer batter pancakes every Saturday morning will always be held close to our hearts.
However we could never figure out why there were eleven empty cans of beer on the kitchen counter with such a small bowl of pancake batter!
Harford was an animal lover his entire life and recently nursed an injured baby bunny back to health.
Snowball loves and misses him everyday.
Hans will always be remembered for the great love, kindness, and happiness he brought to everyone he met.
We will miss him every day and hold those memories close to our hearts.
Uff da, you big Norwegian!
Harford is survived by his children Doug (Annette) Hanson of San Antonio and Nancy Hanson of Newman Lake; grandchildren Brenna Hanson of Phoenix, Grace Hanson, Dustin and Christopher Walton all from San Antonio, as well as all of his four legged “kids” on the farm.
A Graveside Service will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 11 am at Holy Cross Cemetery, 7200 N. Wall St., Spokane, WA.
A celebration will be held at the Maxwell House Tavern following.
In lieu of flowers and liquor, donations can be made to Spokane’s Honor Flight or the Union Gospel Mission Veterinary Clinic.