Obituary of Donald Josef Hanson

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With heavy hearts, the family of Donald J. Hanson announces his sudden and unexpected passing on March 15th, 2021 at the age of 66. His legacy lives on through his surviving family including his three children, Rory, Andrew and Annalise and his two sisters Marion (David) Gorrie and Viv (Keith) Walker and their families. His memory also endures in the hearts of his extended family, friends and the countless others whose lives were enriched via their connection with Don.

He is predeceased by his loving parents, Grace Violet ‘Vi’ (Halen) and John Olaf Hanson, along with his Swedish-Canadian (Halen/Hanson) grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. He now rests in eternity with them.

Donald came into this world in 1954 in Wadena, SK. He was the middle child, between his two sisters. As a result, he learned at a young age how to mediate conflict and resolve disputes. There is speculation, on the part of Marion and Viv, that despite being the middle child, Don was the favourite of their mother, Vi.

In his childhood years, Don enjoyed playfully exploring the outdoors with cousins and friends and at the family’s Fishing Lake cabin. He had many fond memories of this Wadena era, socializing with the neighbourhood kids including Randy, Lyle, and the Fisher kids in town.

At eight years of age, a new career opportunity for their father brought a move to a new home in Hudson Bay, SK. Those close to him recall Don speaking fondly of those days. Outdoor exploration expanded to bike-riding, fort-building, early morning hockey games, and innumerable hours spent roaming the adjacent forests with friends. Throughout this era, the family continued to find time to spend summers returning to their Fishing Lake cabin and Hanson Family.

During Don’s middle school, a desire by Don’s father to further his education resulted in another move, this time to Madison, WI. The Hanson family loaded up their lives into the family station wagon (the “unit”) and headed south, stopping to visit Swedish relatives along the route. Family road trips always included planned routes to reconnect with loved ones who lived at a distance.

Despite Madison being a large city, the community where the family resided (Eagle Heights Student Housing) was small and close-knit. As a caring and confident boy of 12, Don was offered plentiful opportunities to babysit younger children in the surrounding apartments. It was at this stage that Don’s substantial work ethic began to show. His hard work paid off and enabled him to accumulate personal savings for the first time. He spent his leisure time playing freely at the beautiful city lakes. On weekends he enjoyed accompanying his father on road trips to conduct agricultural research. These trips may have laid the foundation for Don’s later interest in agriculture and fueled his lifelong passion for car travel.

Another interest of Don’s emerged at this time, through the family’s 14” TV and their watching the evening news announced by Walter Cronkite. Coverage of current events such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement nurtured Don’s empathy for multicultural issues and cultivated his interest in geo-political events. Other memories from this time include less than ideal school gym uniforms, grappling with learning French, navigating the ups and downs of Jr. High, and two trips to Toronto to see Halen family.

In the summer of 1967, the Hanson family “unit” was loaded up once again to relocate to their new home in Moose Jaw. Despite Don’s disappointment in yet another move, he was quick to forge new friendships with Ken, Blake, Gerald, Doug, and Kevin; friendships that grew deep and were lifelong. Don was a member of The Order of Demolay, where he enjoyed the opportunity to make friends and learn to gently lead.

In the Moose Jaw years, Don also spent time hanging out with his buddies (golfing and biking) and entertaining the family dog, Rufus. Later, in university days and beyond, he would enjoy the companionship and antics of the legendary “Ace the Wonder Dog.” Don saved up and bought his first car, which he nicknamed “Dancin Donnie’s Devil Datsun.” He also joined the Canadian Army Reserves; where he learned the value of discipline, leadership, teamwork and a job well done. During this era, his passion for collecting music took off in the form of his own record collection. He was thrilled to discover Elton John, Carly Simon, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, James Taylor and 3 Dog night (to name a few). His music could be heard loudly emanating from his basement bedroom.

Towards the end of his high school years, Don began working for CN railroad along with some of his close friends. His switchman shifts were busy, chaotic, and involved working at all times of the day and night. Don fondly looked back on this work, as it allowed him the opportunity to travel and experience the scenic prairies.

Don decided to further his academic education and enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan to study agriculture. This ended up not being his desired field, so he became a self-professed “Thanksgiving Grad” and went back to working on the rails. The following year, he re-enrolled and later graduated with his Commerce degree (Human Resources and General Business) from the U of S.

Upon graduation, Don worked for a short time with Revenue Canada as an auditor but then decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and entered the agricultural industry. He took a job with the Sask Wheat Pool as a District Representative, and later at the Manitoba Pool Elevators in their Country Elevator Division. His role for the Pools was primarily focused on member relations in Swift Current, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Dauphin. While in Swift Current, Don met Danny who was living next door; the two of them stayed friends for life. He continued his career with positions at Robin Hood Flour in Saskatoon and AGI Processors in Red Deer.

The years spent traveling around Saskatchewan and building a rapport with farmer clients led to Don to develop a comprehensive understanding of the workings of the agricultural sector. He followed the effects of the weather and the economy on crops each year, growing strong empathy for the farmers of the prairies. Driving down the highway, he could point to the various farms telling the histories of the different families who had settled or farmed there and would describe how he knew many of them from different stages of his life.

In later years, he began a new career in facility management/maintenance. He operated a small property management business, worked for several years for the Saskatoon Public School Board and then worked as a Pool Technician for the City of Saskatoon. On top of his normal responsibilities at work, Don took on additional duties with the local CUPE and OH&S with the City of Saskatoon.

While not immune to home task procrastination, Don prided himself in his strong work ethic. He was known as an exemplary employee and fellow worker who would go above and beyond. He worked continuously to develop personal connections with co-workers and clients alike. His friendly, optimistic, talkative nature and relationships forged while at work transcended the work-space.

Don always wanted to have a family of his own. He met Heather in 1982 as Co-op Youth leaders.  They shared the love of travel, travelled abroad, and married in 1985. They have three children, Rory (1989), Andrew (1991) and Annalise (1995). Their marriage parted ways but they continued to co-parent successfully.

Don was proud, as proud could be, of his three children. Their accomplishments and successes were as meaningful to him as his own. He discussed them with anyone who would give him a listening ear. Each one has become an embodiment of different positive traits that Don possessed. Rory in his intellectualism, empathy, orderliness and ability to have a healthy discussion or debate. Andy in his easy-going personality and love for history and geography. Annalise in her passions for live music and travel, as well as her gentle, caring, nurturing personality which she now uses in her career as a nurse.

In his personal time, Don was an avid collector; he loved making weekly trips to his favourite thrift stores to hunt for CDs, books, VHSs and later DVDs. He enjoyed displaying his collections and considered them symbolic of his discerning taste. He also accumulated items that had potential future functional value, just as his parents had done.

He had a strong affection for film and theatre. Many fond memories come to mind of trips to the local theater to see the latest blockbuster. He also enjoyed reading as a hobby and spent time daily with all forms of literature. Don was a superb storyteller, he enjoyed listening to narrators like Stuart Mclean (Vinyl Café) and often listened to the CBC Radio. He and his children would listen these tales during the many hours of spent together on the road. In the evenings, he liked to tune in to his favourite late night talk shows. This allowed him to stay current on global issues, view performed music and to be informed on the latest media buzz.

Don had a deep love for music; he would listen to music while he worked, while he travelled and at home. There was a soundtrack playing during the majority of his waking hours. One of Don’s greatest forms of self-pride came from his ability to curate the ultimate “mixtape” which he labelled “Don’s Tunes.” These CD mixes were gifted to family and friends who cherished his eclectic tastes.

Perhaps most dear to his heart were live music performances; he stayed informed on what concerts were occurring locally or within a reasonable travelling distance. He spoke fondly of memories of outdoor concerts at the Saskatoon Bess, going to see lesser-known bands, or travelling great distances to see one of his favourites.  This included making the 16-hour non-stop pilgrimage several times to see Dave Matthews Band, at The Gorge in Washington State, with his nephews and later his children.

Don also enjoyed a number of other hobbies as an adult, including swimming, riding his bike, fishing at Fishing Lake, golfing at the Wadena Golf Course, or taking long walks along the South Saskatchewan River with his children. He also spent afternoons taking a drive through the scenic prairie countryside to check in on how different crops were growing.

Despite modest skills as a chef, he did enjoy a quality home cooked meal, as well as dining out with family and friends. Those who knew him will know of his regular consumption of coffee with cream or Diet Pepsi. There was a time where he was on a first name basis with most of the staff at 7-Eleven. He also loved to indulge in tasty desserts such as ice cream or cheesecake.

He was never flashy in his consumer tastes nor extravagant. He didn’t care for brand names and valued function over fashion; he would use items until they were worn absolutely out. He placed more value on immaterial things like love, connection, storytelling and quality shared experiences.

Don was a wonderful contributor to his family. He never shied away from sacrificing his own time, energy and resources to help those he loved. A great example of this was his provision of palliative care for his mother, in the last seasons of her life. The two of them shared lots of meaningful late-night conversations about geography, politics and the human condition. Not many mothers live fulltime with their adult sons, but Don was more than willing to provide loving care for her.

Don also helped out in his local condo community on the board of directors, helped neighbours in need and spent endless hours outside shoveling the sidewalks to keep others safe. He would happily drop what he was doing and come to another’s aid, whether it was boosting a car battery, running an errand, or comforting those in distress. As a person who would go above and beyond what was expected of him, Don easily developed personal connections with new friends. His interactions with newcomers led to valued connections, like his friend Nondo. Many will recall his friendly, optimistic, sarcastic and talkative nature.

Don had incredible wanderlust, whether it was road trips with friends, vacations with family or solo adventures abroad. He travelled to East and Western Europe, South East Asia, Australia/NZ and Africa. In Europe, he travelled to Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia and perhaps most memorably to Sweden (to relatives). In South East Asia, he travelled to Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and The Philippines. In Africa, he landed in Kenya and travelled south through Tanzania and ended up in South Africa.

He enjoyed learning the history of his destinations through tourist walking tours. Don’s travel style was always to go with the flow. He tended to leave planning until the last minute. Annalise can attest to this as they stayed in a cramped 24-bed hostel room in Stockholm. But this was the same with other areas of his life, Don was both frugal and unassuming; he would choose the cramped hostel over fancy hotel. It was in these hostels, on planes and trains that he could meet and spark conversations with strangers, listening to their stories. When not in conversation, he often had his ear buds in, listening to the music, as he ventured through new places.

Don had big plans for his retirement including continuing to travel the world, visiting friends away from home and working to improve his cabin property at Fishing Lake. He and his son Andrew and brother-in-law Dave had recently re-roofed the property and he had dreams to team up with friends to enhance the site.

When it came to being charitable, Don was philanthropic in direct aid to new immigrants here in Canada and supported those less fortunate abroad. If you wish to make a donation in Don’s honor, please consider: anonymous generosity to a stranger you encounter locally (i.e., a recent newcomer to Canada); or donate to either charity: The Saskatoon Open Door Society: https://www.sods.sk.ca/donate or Global Gathering Place Saskatoon: https://globalgatheringplace.com/get-involved/donate

Don – Prairie-planted,

Loving father, son, brother, uncle, friend

Advocate and provider for the less fortunate

World traveller, hard worker, seeker of the less-travelled road,

Politically informed, modest and frugal, kind and gentle.

We will miss your warmth, smiles, chuckles, stories, and goodness in our days.

…..’until we meet again’ …..