Lavina Helena Hanson

Lavina Helena (Geiszler) Hanson passed away peacefully on April 6, 2026, at her home in Asher Point Assisted Living in Austin, Texas. Born on March 16, 1930, Lavina lived a long, full life shaped by resilience, creativity, and a deep, unwavering love for her family and church.

Lavina was born in Bottineau, North Dakota as the 2nd of 4 children of John and Frederika Geiszler at the start of the Great Depression. She finished school at 17 in Lodi, California and wanted to start nursing school but had to wait 1 year when she helped on the North Dakota family farm with household chores and feeding hungry wheat threshing teams. She then finished school including a BA in Nursing at a major Chicago hospital after which she worked as a nurse in the San Francisco Bay Area where she met her husband, Harley Hanson. Her nursing career lasted over 50 years in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and summer camps. We used to tease her that she had 4 kids, 18 months apart as practice for working as a family planning nurse.

Lavina’s love story with Harley was one for ages. They met in 1950 at a Lutheran Student Center Potluck in Oakland, California. After some long-distance dating between California and Iowa, Harley proposed and they were married on August 8, 1954. Their life together was filled with laughter, card games, dominoes, and countless shared memories with many camping and fishing trips and time spent together in the great outdoors. They graduated from pitching tents with the kids on long RV trips in later life including to Alaska and the Grand Canyon.

Harley and Lavina raised 4 children in Iowa in Ames, Burt, and Garner in a home filled with wind chimes, spinning pinwheels to keep woodpeckers at bay, and a kitchen where sloppy joes, casseroles often featuring “cream of something”, and pineapple upside-down cake were made with love. She enjoyed “working on” food and no one ever left her table hungry.

A child of the depression, Lavina was always saving things like a motley collection of bread bags, phone books, church directories, empty Crystal Light containers, baby food jars, and anything else that might come in handy someday. She never saw a magazine or Christmas card she didn’t think was worth keeping. She had a knack for making homemade clothes, Halloween costumes, and glittery, glamorous creations on demand. Lavina’s sewing machine was often busy creating treasures like baby blankets and even a beloved vest made from an upside-down pair of blue jeans. Lavina also was den mother for several years of Cub Scouts and Brownies.

Lavina's acquaintances rarely stayed as strangers. She could and would talk to anyone about anything, often launching into stories about people she loved (though not always clarifying exactly who she meant). She knew the names and birthdays of nearly every relative’s child. Family was everything to Lavina even if she occasionally showed her love by arriving unannounced. Whether it was stopping by without notice and wondering why everyone had to go to work or appearing at a family vacation “because she was in the area,” she simply wanted to be where her people were.

Lavina lived out her faith by reaching out and helping as many folks as she could, through nursing assistance, delivery of a food gift or just stopping by for a cup of coffee and a chat.

She found joy in the simple things: hanging clothes on the line, watching old VHS tapes, admiring photos on her digital frame in her later years, and sitting in the sun on a fishing boat wearing one of her many many hats and sunglasses, and a wardrobe that often included something hot pink. Even as her memory faded and her words sometimes became harder to understand, Lavina never stopped talking about the people she loved most. She spoke of Harley often and continued to name her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren by holding onto them in the way that mattered most.

Lavina was preceded in death by her husband Harley Odean Hanson, her daughter Cheryl Anne Ryan, her parents John and Freda Geiszler, and her brothers Laurel and Martin Geiszler.

She is survived by her sister, Ruth (Geiszler) Johnson of Power, Montana, her 3 remaining children David Hanson (Gabrielled Droulers) of Sydney, Australia, Bruce Hanson (Linda Hanson) of Ames, Iowa and June Nichols of Austin, Texas. She also has 10 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

The family extends our heartfelt thanks to the staff and friends at Asher Point Assisted Living for the compassionate care and kindness they showed Lavina.

She will be deeply missed, fondly remembered, and often smiled about especially when something a little unusual is saved “just in case.” In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or your favorite charity in Lavina's memory.

Please join us for a Celebration of Life service to be held on Saturday, May 30, 2026 at 3:00 PM Central at the Chapel at Riverside Bible Camp, located at 3001 Riverside Rd., Story City, Iowa, 50248. Lavina served as the camp nurse here for several summers.

If you cannot join in person…there will be a ZOOM option available as well.

Please contact June N. at [email protected] for the Zoom link.