Wayne Allen HANSEN

1942 - 2015

HANSEN, Wayne Allen
Wayne Allen Hansen, born March 19, 1942, in Boise, ID, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, May 26, 2015, after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Wayne is survived by his wife, Janice Unwin of Live Oak, FL, and son, Christian (Sheri) Hansen, of Lake City, FL. Wayne was active in Boy Scouts growing up in Idaho and was a Scout Master in Palm Beach County FL. He was a proud member of the US Navy, the Submarine Force and United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. (USSVI) South Florida Base. Wayne was a life member of USSVI, Life #4429, and a member of the Holland Club, which is for members of USSVI that have been qualified in submarines for 50 years or more. Wayne qualified in 1963 aboard the USS Threadfin SS410 and served on the Threadfin from 1962 to 1965. He also served on USS Halibut SSN/SSGN587 from 1967 to 1969 and was a First Class Electronics Technician. He was the ship's photographer on the Threadfin and was responsible for taking the picture of the Russian freighter carrying cases of missiles to Cuba. If you read the history of how the Cuban Missile Crisis started, it was because the straw that broke the back was when pictures taken from a submarine gave 100% assurance that the Russians were delivering missiles to Cuba. Because of this photo, Wayne laughingly would say, HE started the Cuban Missile Crisis! His service aboard the Halibut, about which the book, Spy Sub, was written, involved the search and rescue of a downed Russian submarine, K129. Wayne was one of the crewmembers from the Halibut invited to St, Petersberg, Russia in 2002 for a Memorial for the loved ones who perished aboard the downed Russian sub. One of Wayne's greatest experiences was his involvement in Masonry. He was 45 years 5 months a Master Mason, member and past Master of Boynton Lodge No. 236 F. & A.M. He was a DeMolay Dad and founded Boynton DeMolay Chapter; was State Chairman of Masonic Youth Activities in 2012 and he received the Legion of Honor from DeMolay International in 2012. He was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star; the KCCH Lake Worth Scottish Rite; the Morocco Shrine, Jacksonville, and President of the Boynton Shrine Club; member of the York Rite Chapter Palm Beach No. 24, Commandery Palm Beach No. 18 and Council Zabud No. 17. He was a member of ARAWK Lodge No. 8877, Freeport Grand Bahamas; a member of the Royal Order of Scotland; and a member of the Royal Order of Jesters. Wayne and Jan were members of the Masonic National Camping Travelers, Inc. Wayne was the District Deputy Grand Master in 2010 for M.W.J. Dick Martinez of the Grand Lodge of Florida. He was awarded a lifetime appointment as the Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Colombia (Barranquilla) in 2012. Wayne and Jan reconnected again two years ago after having dated twenty-five years ago and married in February 2014. Although their time together was short, they filled their time doing things they had always wanted to do! They traveled extensively in their short time together, traveling by ship for thirty-five days to Iceland, Greenland, Norway, and Amsterdam. They spent one Christmas traveling with a group of students from the School of Human Rights at Southern Methodist University, touring German Death Camps In Poland. They then traveled on their own to tour Dachau in Germany, where Jan's Dad, with the 142nd Rainbow Division, had been involved in the liberation of the prisoners there at Dachau. They visited Wayne's cousin and his wife in Denmark. This past summer, they toured for four months the Pacific Northwest where Wayne showed Jan his part of the Country where he grew up (and where he said there were REAL mountains!) and introduced her to his family and friends. Because of his wishes, his body will be cremated and no services will be held. Because Wayne loved to have a good time, we will celebrate his life at a dinner party at his and Jan's home at 14571 CR 132, Live Oak, FL 32060, on Saturday, June 27, 6:00 PM. All of his friends and loved ones are invited to attend and reminisce the good times we all had with him! Please send any donations in his memory to: The Masonic Home of Florida, 3201 1st Street NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33704 or to our Church, First United Methodist Church, 311 Ohio Avenue South, Live Oak, FL 32064.
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