Lorene A. Hanson

MASON CITY - Lorene A. Hanson, 96, of Mason City, passed away on Wednesday (Sept. 8, 2010) at Good Shepherd Health Center.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. today, Monday, Sept. 13, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mason City, with Pastor Jim Magelssen officiating. Burial will take place in Rose Lawn Cemetery in St. Paul, Minn.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12 at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Memorials may be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church, World Hunger, Lutheran World Relief or a charity of your choice.
Lorene Anne Horazdovsky, was born on July 27, 1914, in St. Paul, Minn., the daughter of Edward and Alvina Horazdovsky. She graduated from St. Paul Central High School at age 16, in 1930, after her teachers had her skip two grades during elementary and junior high school. In the midst of the Great Depression, she got a job working in the Golden Rule department store in St. Paul. Despite her youth, she rapidly advanced in responsibilities and became head of her department.
However, her real desire was to work in the Children's Home in St. Paul which cared for orphaned, abandoned and abused children. She had begun volunteering there as a teenager and realized she needed to go to college to realize her goal. She finally saved enough money from her job at the Golden Rule to pay for three years at the University of Minnesota. By taking extra course work, she was able to complete her four-year degree in three years, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude in 1941.
After graduation, she was appointed superintendent of the Children's Home, which she turned into a model facility through her excellent administrative skills and especially her extraordinary care and devotion for the children.
She served in that capacity until May 26, 1944, when she married the Rev. Lavern Hanson. Their first parish call was to Ortonville, Minn. where three children, Paul, Philip, and Kathryn were born to them. In 1950, they moved to La Crosse, Wis., where their last child, Krismar, was born. In 1958, Pastor Hanson accepted the call to become Senior Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church and they moved to Mason City.
In all of these places, she was a vital partner in her husband's ministry and took an active role in the life of the congregation. In 1963, she underwent a radical mastectomy for breast cancer. Recognizing that there was then little support for women who had undergone these procedures, she started the Mason City chapter of Reach for Recovery, which was dedicated to helping breast cancer survivors with their physical and psychological rehabilitation. She served for 10 years as a volunteer for Reach for Recovery. Her work led to service on the Cancer Board in Mason City.
After Pastor Hanson's retirement in 1984, they moved to the Manor, and after his death in 1986, she continued to live there until shortly before her death on Sept. 8, 2010.
Throughout her life her primary focus was always on her children and grandchildren, and it was her greatest joy to spend time with them. She became a world traveler in part to keep up with her family as her various offspring often found themselves living or studying in Europe, Africa, and India. She was an excellent seamstress, a baker of many Norwegian delicacies and took a great joy in reading, in particular theological works. Her faith in Jesus Christ was the guiding factor in her life. Many people sought her wisdom and counsel. Lorene's stewardship and generosity was evident in her active involvement and support towards many charitable organizations.
Left to cherish her memory are her son, Paul (Dixie) Hanson of Moorpark, Calif.; her daughters Kathy (Larry) Shaffer of Ventura, and Krismar (Wolfgang) Zahringer of Munich, Germany; her daughter-in-law Anissa Hanson of Cairo, Egypt; her grandchildren Micah Hanson, Karin (Jeff) Ninnemann, Neil (ARong) Hanson and Joshua Smith; step-grandchildren, J.D. Shaffer, Jennifer (Stephen) Fasnacht, Stefan (Susann) Zahringer, Paul Zahringer; and her great-grandchildren, DeArzae and Tre Fasnacht; her brother Harry (Sally) Horazdovsky of Brainard, Minn., as well as many other extended family members.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Lavern; brother, Earl Horazdovsky; son, Philip; granddaughters, Kristin Smith and Maren Smith.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.majorericksonfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are with Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, Mason City, 641-423-0924.
www.majorericksonfuneralhome.com.