Kenneth Jerome Hanson

1924 - 2021

Kenneth Jerome Hanson
July 19, 1924 - August 22, 2021
Los Osos, California - Kenneth Jerome Hanson passed away on August 22, 2021, at the age of 97, exactly one month after the passing of his wife of 73 years. He was born on July 19, 1924 in Scobey, Montana, while his father was there fighting a wildfire. One of eight children, he grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the great depression. As a member of America's greatest generation, he served in the Army during World War II in the European theater, attaining the rank of corporal. After witnessing the deaths of so many of his fellow soldiers, he once said that every day after the war was a gift, and that he would enjoy each day to the fullest, and never complain, which he never did.
He pursued a career in radio and worked as an announcer at stations, both in Butte Montana and Minneapolis. After tiring of shoveling snow every winter, just to get to work, he moved his family to Fresno, California in 1956. He first worked at station KFRE and then at KMJ, finishing his career as a radio advertising salesman. He and his wife retired to the small coastal town of Los Osos, California in 1987.
He enjoyed his lifelong hobby of woodworking, building parts of seven homes for he and his wife, and his son and his daughter, as well as numerous pieces of furniture and wall hangings, and was well known locally for his animated, Christmas yard decorations. He also enjoyed a second hobby of restoring classic cars, winning several awards for his five cars from the 20s and 30s, and took second place at the prestigious Concourse de Elegance at Pebble Beach, losing only to Otis Chandler, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, who had his cars professionally restored.
Always the family man, he traveled across America with his family to all 48 states and most of the Canadian provinces, first by car and then later by motor home. Despite surviving a broken neck, a gun shot wound and quintuple bypass heart surgery, he remained active throughout his life, parasailing at 91 and jet skiing at 94. He was preceded in death by his wife, Doreen, his father, Charles, his mother, Fredrikka, his brothers, Forrest, Doug, Curt and Vern, and his sisters, Louetta and Darlene. He is survived by his brother Merlin of Kingman Arizona, his daughter, Leslie of Los Osos, his son, Mark, his grandson, Matthew and Matthew's wife, Erica, all of Morro Bay, and numerous nieces and nephews. He lived an amazing life and will be missed. We love you dad, and thanks for always being at the other end of the board.