Timothy Hansen

Timothy James Hansen - Man of Mono

On June 22, 2025, with his family by his side, Timothy James Hansen left this world from his home on the north shore of Mono Lake.

He was 77 years old.

Born February 5, 1948, in Los Angeles, Tim's life was one of quiet strength, loyalty, and devotion to family, community, and the land he carried in his heart. From childhood summers spent playing along Mono's wild, wind-swept edges, he knew this place was in his blood and spirit. After Vietnam and college, he returned to the family land and from it built his life, his work, his family, and his home, anchoring now five generations to this rare and beautiful place.

Tim's life was one of grit and grace, paradox and depth. He honorably served in Vietnam, studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts, and later gave voice to his community as a Mono County Supervisor. He was a serial entrepreneur: starting a fire extinguisher business that forged lifelong friendships, working seasons with Caltrans to provide for his family, hauling across the western states in his Kenworth with jazz on the radio as his elegant soundtrack, and finally dedicating decades to the brine shrimp plant on Mono Lake, where water, work, and family converged.

Music was Tim's passion. Gifted on piano, standup bass, and electric bass, he carried rhythm in his hands and feet, forever tapping in time. His love of music, fostered by his mother Verna, never waned. Jazz especially mirrored his spirit; spontaneous, soulful, independent, alive with improvisation. He lived as he listened: attuned, curious, and always in his own time, his music his faithful companion until his final moments.

He was simple yet endlessly complex, honest to a fault, "dumb like a fox," a man of replete depth, wrapped in denim, grease, jazz, and the smell of diesel. Known as the king of BS'ing and "cyphering," he could talk for hours with friends and strangers alike or sit in reverent silence with nothing more than the lake, a cup of Alta Sumatra coffee, a hand-rolled cigarette, and his trusty dog by his side. Even his Porsche, its rustic patina made richer with time, reflected the man himself: classic, weathered, 100% authentic, enduring.

Tim was, above all, a family man. He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Dianna Hansen; his children Hillary Hansen, Harmony Marshall, April Taylor, and Sky Greytak; his many grandchildren, including his beloved grand-baby Rose; his brother Jeff Hansen and sister-in-law Kathy Hansen; his many cousins, and extended family.

His spirit remains at Mono Lake, his place, in the whisper of the winds that sweep across the landscape he loved so, in the call of the birds, in the chirp of the crickets, and in the enduring strength of the family he leaves behind.

A Celebration of Life will be held on August 30, 2025, at 11:00 AM

at Mono Lake Cemetery, 1194 Cemetery Road, on the north shore of Mono Lake.

Luncheon to follow at:

Mono Inn Restaurant

55620 U.S. 395

Lee Vining, CA 93541