Dorris Hoff Hanson

1928 - 2021

Dorris Hoff Hanson passed away on January 24, 2021 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, CA. Dorris Eulabell Hoff was born on April 9, 1928 in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Christian Wendell Hoff and Clara (Spong) Hoff. She grew up in the Portland area and after graduating from high school, attended Simpson Bible Institute in Seattle, Washington, where she met her eventual husband, Delbert James Hanson. They married in Portland on June 30, 1951, and then moved to the Chicago, Illinois area for 4 years while Delbert attended graduate school at Wheaton College. Dorris had various jobs there, including working at Marshall Fields and as a telephone operator. Two of their children, Sharon and Scott, were born in Illinois. In 1955 the family moved to San Francisco, where James, Philip and Keith were born. Delbert worked at Simpson Bible College, which had relocated to San Francisco from Seattle, as a professor and Dean of Men, a position that required them to live on campus. In 1961 the family moved to the Pasadena area, where Dorris has lived ever since. Dorris worked several different careers while in Pasadena, including running a home day care, providing a rooming house for several years for many different Fuller Seminary students, providing personal care services to many homebound elderly, as well as being the mother to five rambunctious children. She was a very committed member of the Pasadena Covenant Church, providing volunteer nursery care for many years. She was a faithful member of the Courier Sunday School Class for several decades, where she became known very affectionately as "the donut lady." She adored the many lifelong friends she made through her Sunday School Class. Dorris was a dedicated card writer, sending hundreds of uplifting cards to hundreds of different friends and family members each year. She provided prayers for hundreds of sick or grieving each year. Dorris made friends where ever she went, including many in the Christian Mission field, and she was always ready to lend a helping hand to all those who were suffering. Dorris' husband, Delbert, died on Jan 9, 2002, leaving a huge hole in her heart. She overcame her loss by involving herself with her church friends and family. When her grand-daughter Lacey was born, Dorris provided half of Lacey's daycare until Lacey was a teenager. Dorris' positive and cheerful outlook on life, as well as great sense of humor, was always uplifting to everyone she encountered. Dorris is survived by one daughter, Sharon Hanson Bohne (David), and four sons, Scott (Carol), James, Philip, and Keith (Suzanne). She has four grandchildren, Joanna Wilson, Leslie Hanson Ramirez (Michael), Eric Hanson, and Lacey Hanson, and two great-grandchildren, Savannah and Cameron Ramirez. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews, including special niece Gloria Spearce, as well as sister-in-law Ella Mae Durkee. Dorris was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her brothers Kenneth and Wesley Hoff, and her sister Thelma Hoff McClure. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, her Celebration of Life will be held at later date.