John Paul Hanna

1932 - 2025

John Paul Hanna
07/12/1932 - 08/06/2025
It is with deep love and heartfelt sorrow that we announce the passing of John Paul Hanna. John died at home peacefully in his sleep on August 6, surrounded by family.
Born to two dedicated educators, Jean and Paul Hanna, John grew up with a true appreciation for learning-a value he cherished and instilled in his children and grandchildren. A proud graduate of Phillips Academy Andover, Stanford University, and Stanford Law School, John launched a distinguished legal career spanning 65 years as one of California's leading land use and real estate lawyers. John also completed specialized training at the U.S. Army Intelligence School at Fort Holabird and ultimately served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve (Airborne). He attributed his love of art and aesthetics to being raised in the Frank Lloyd Wright house his parents built on the Stanford campus. Wright's insistence on excellence in both "form and function" had a profound effect on John at an early age.
John's professional achievements were widely recognized. He was named to Best Lawyers in America, Silicon Valley's Best Lawyers, and San Francisco's Best Lawyers, and earned the prestigious AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Early in life, he was honored as an Outstanding Young Man of Palo Alto and one of Five Outstanding Young Men of California by the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
John was also a prolific author whose commitment to civic education inspired several published works. These include Teenagers and the Law and Youth and the Law, the latter being the first publication of the Palo Alto Unified School District. He wrote The Complete Layman's Guide to the Law, which featured a foreword by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark.
His published contributions to real estate and community law include California Condominium Handbook and California Condominium Handbook II: Law and Practice. He also authored Homeowners Associations: A How-To Guide for Leadership and Effective Participation and co-authored Hanna and Van Atta on California Common Interest Developments.
As a young man fresh out of army boot camp, John rode his Harley Davidson from Kentucky to California-this adventurous spirit defined much of his life. His love of skiing, tennis, collecting and racing Ferraris, mountain climbing, surfing, spearfishing, fly fishing, and abalone diving were not just hobbies but cherished opportunities to form deep, lifelong relationships. Whether summitting Mount Whitney or the Grand Teton (at age 65), mastering the bagpipes and playing Amazing Grace at sunrise atop Windy Hill on Easter Sundays, earning membership in the 60 Pound Salmon Club on the Kenai River, breaking the record for the largest rainbow trout caught at Three Forks Ranch in Wyoming, abalone diving with his daughter amid sightings of great white sharks, teaching his granddaughter to abalone dive in Mendocino, playing tennis with the Menlo Circus Club "Z" team, or completing the original marathon in Greece, John embraced life with joy and determination.
His passions were many and pursued with zeal, but above all, he loved sharing them with the people he loved. John's spirit of adventure and community touched every part of his life. A longtime member of the Menlo Circus Club, the Palo Alto Club, the Bohemian Club, the Elks Club, and the Kiwanis Club, John especially cherished the kinship and camaraderie he found at the Bohemian Grove's Sempervirens Camp. At the Grove, he famously hosted abalone and lobster feasts and shared evenings filled with guitar, Country Western singing, poetry, and jokes.
John was a devoted husband to Barbara Hanna, "the love of his life," with whom he shared 40 wonderful years. He was a beloved father to his daughters, Kristine Shuman Hanna and Katie Hanna Dickson, from his earlier marriage to Joyce Hanna Smith, and a proud and loving grandfather to Allison Hanna Dickson, Sam Marks, and Ben Hanna. John's unwavering work ethic, integrity, love of family, and zest for life leave a lasting legacy and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife Barbara; daughters Kristine and Katie; son-in-law Tom Dickson; grandchildren Allison, Sam, and Ben; nieces Ellen Hanna and Laura Hanna Goodman, nephews Brett Hanna, Eddie Clark, and Paul Clark; cousin Kathy Hanna; sister-in-law Beth Brookings; brother-in-law Mick Briscoe; and cousins-in-law Janie Horton and Humberto Ramirez.