Dr. Forest Warnyr Hansen

FOREST Warnyr Hansen Forest Hansen grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. He won a scholarship to Harvard, graduating with an AB in English in 1953. After military service he earned an MA in English at the University of Wisconsin and his PhD in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University..

His broad academic training was manifested in his teaching, publications, and other activities. He taught philosophy and was chair of the department at Lake Forest College, IL for several decades. He regularly led a study abroad program traveling widely through Greece and Turkey studying ancient civilizations.

His publications crossed disciplinary boundaries, with articles in journals of philosophy, psychology, music, education, and humanities and entries for the Encyclopedia of Psychology and Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. He was awarded a 1970-71 National Endowment for the Humanities Younger Humanist Fellowship, and was an ongoing consultant for the Philosophy of Music Education Review.

Throughout his career, Professor Hansen's deepest commitment was to classroom teaching, where he tried to get students to think by and for themselves and to improve their oral and writing skills. He was recognized with a 1969 Great Teacher Award and a Sears Roebuck Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership.

Forest took early retirement to move to England after his dear wife Valerie Lamont completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University. They lived in Worchester, England for 11 years before returning to live in Easton. Later, Forest became a devoted and respected leader of online classes for Chesapeake Forum where he taught many courses in philosophy and ancient Greek drama up until the fall of 2025 at age 94.

Forest and Valerie travelled the world together; these trips took them to China and Southeast Asia on a number of occasions, to Mongolia and the Trans-Siberian Railway, Uzbekistan, and all around the Mediterranean, Machu Picchu, and Patagonia.

He leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Valerie Lamont, son Judd Hansen (Susan), step-sons Tristan Forgus and Kilian Forgus, and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Jay Hansen.