D. BRUCE HANSON

1935 - 2019

D. BRUCE HANSON  June 27, 1935 - May 16, 2019  
Donald Bruce Hanson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1935 the third child of Donald and Jean Hanson. Bruce grew up in Hartford, CT and attended Amherst College, and Union Theological Seminary, graduating in 1961. During seminary, he spent a year as an Amherst-Doshisha fellow at Doshisha College Kyoto, Japan. In 1961 he was called as Assistant Pastor to First Congregational Church, DC where he was ordained to the ministry of the United Church of Christ. But his call to service turned to the civil rights movement and farm worker organizing. In 1964 he organized the training of over 1,000 college students going south to register Black citizens to vote. When the summer was over he continued working for the National Council of Churches, until he returned to Washington DC in 1971 to work for the Center for Community Change until his retirement in 1999. Bruce is survived by his wife, the Rev, Jean Alexander, his three step-children Daniel Wiley, Maya Wiley, Elizabeth Rother; four grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his two sisters, Carol Ericson and Jeannie Stolzenberg and his former wife, Wretha Wiley. Bruce was beloved for his kindness, his gentle and unassuming manner, and his passion for justice evidenced by his life long commitment to the struggle for a fair society. A memorial service will be held at First Congregational United Church of Christ at 945 G Street N.W, in Washington, DC on Saturday June 15 at 11 a.m.  In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be made to First Congregational Church, DC: the National Farmworker Ministry, PO. BOX 10645 Raleigh NC 27605, or to DART, 9401 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 215, Miami Shores, FL 33138 .