Neil Hanson

A Memorial Service for Neil W. Hanson of Herman, Minnesota will be held Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Herman, Minnesota with Rev. Darrell Boe officiating. Visitation will be held Tuesday evening from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a 7:00 p.m. Oddfellow Service. Visitation will continue Wednesday morning one hour prior to service time at the church. Inurnment will take place in Lakeside Cemetery, Herman. Neil Wilford Hanson was born June 29, 1923 to Victor and Amanda (Johnson) Hanson. He passed away at the Barrett Care Center on January 5, 2013. He was 89 years old. Neil attended a rural country school in Macsville Township and graduated from Herman High School in 1941. After high school, he took some classes at the Ag School in Morris. As a youth, he was active in 4-H and showed a number of prize beef cattle. Neil was a life long member of the United Methodist Church in Herman where he sang in the choir and served on several committees. He served on the Macsville Telephone Board, the Herman Creamery Board, as Clerk of Macsville Township, as a director of the First National Bank in Herman, on the elevator board and was a PTA officer once. He was a member of the N.F.O. and a long time member of the Oddfellow Lodge. Neil met Joyce Simpson at a Methodist Church supper and after dating a couple years, they were married on June 14, 1949 at the United Methodist Church in Herman with Rev. Raymond Mattock officiating. They began their farm life on the place where Neil farmed with his brother, Clifford. In 1951, they moved to a farm 5 miles east of Herman located on the shores of Lake Olsrud, the former home of Art and Hattie Rood. Through the 60 years they lived there, many changes were made. All the old buildings were taken down and replaced, except the house which had extensive remodeling in 1956. Moving to their place, they had animals so many fences were made " including a white picket fence for the inner yard. He had a passion for white fences. Neil was a good farmer and he loved farming. He had dairy cows for a few years and then later raised beef and hogs and did grain farming. In 1994, they had an auction sale but remained living on the farm until 2009 when they moved into Herman. He liked to hunt and fish and always looked forward to having family visit him. It was after he no longer was farming that he started a hobby. He made many horse-drawn vehicles which were made to a 1/16 scale. He also was an avid book reader; he kept a list of all of the ones he read. Neil is survived by his wife, Joyce, two daughters, Nan Hill of Herman and Linda (Guy) Kalland of Northfield, three sons, Ken (Tammy) Hanson of Herman, Glen (Beth) of Moorhead and Greg (Lisa) of Cottage Grove, grandchildren, Amber Hill of Rochester, MN, Ashley Hill of Nashville, TN, Abby (Kalland) Kershaw of Minneapolis, Shari (Hanson) Olson of Wadena, Katie Hanson of Fargo, ND, Isaac, Alex and Sam Hanson of Cottage Grove, Jason Thomas of Scottsdale, AZ and Alec Thomas of Moorhead, four great-grandchildren, Aiden, Jacob and Grace Olson and Ella Thomas and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters, Joyce Utsler and Glenice Giese and brothers, Kenneth and Clifford.