Patricia Doreen Hansen

Pat passed away at home on Thursday, February 13, surrounded by her husband, siblings and her lifelong close friend. She reluctantly let go of her physical relationship with this world as she succumbed to the ravages of a rare form of pancreatic endocrine carcinoma. All who know her mourn her passing but find relief with the end of her suffering.

Her family moved three times before she turned five, the last move being into the permanent home in Puyallup where Pat and her three younger siblings were raised. She attended All Saints Elementary School, and graduated from Aquinas Academy in Tacoma in 1971. Her undergraduate degree in accounting was awarded from Western Washington State College in 1977. She had attended Seattle University for two years before transferring to Bellingham.

After graduation, Pat was employed by Price Waterhouse then Moss Adams in public accounting in Seattle and then Sacramento. From Sacramento she moved to Pasadena, then to San Diego. There she began writing software for Intuit and continued her private accounting practice. She telecommuted for Intuit and kept her private clients after moving back to Tacoma to be near her family in 2011. Her Intuit relationship ended in the summer of 2013.

Throughout her life Pat raised eyebrows and captured the hearts of many people. During her youth, Hi Dive was a favorite destination during the summer months. Located on North Hill, it was a playground on Surprise Lake that included a vast expanse of wide docks, a 30 foot tall slide, a 20 foot high trapeze, and most significantly, a scaffold that offered a diving platform at 10 foot intervals, the highest at 50 foot. Whether it was her trust in God to look out for her or showing off to friends, she jumped off the highest platform and had a purple bruise to show for it. Maybe that's when purple became her favorite color.

William Kindt, Pat's father, a member of the operating Engineer's, liked fast cars. He also enjoyed finding deals in automobiles and repairing them to working condition before placing it for sale. That benefited Pat because she always had wheels, although sometimes the bugs had not been worked out completely.

Pat had a gift with numbers and her mother, Laraine, who was a bookkeeper, encouraged Pat with multiplication table flash cards and continued finding ways to promote mathematics. While in Elementary school Pat studied piano, learning classical technique from talented Sisters of the Benedictine order. Once in high school, her interests turned to dances, girlfriends, boyfriends and part time jobs.

One of Pat's fellow students remembers Pat:

We had a great time at Western...not doing accounting....but spent time playing sports, chasing boys, drinking beer and playing cards. Our accounting professor thought we were the wildest bunch of accountants he had seen. We had a group of 7 of us ladies that would get together for potluck dinner once a month or so. One dinner I think just about everyone brought Jell-O.

After finishing her education and becoming a Certified Public Accountant, she worked hard at learning and growing professionally.

She met the love of her life, Jim Hansen, in the late 1990's. They had no children but used their talents to support multiple charitable organizations through the 3 day walk for breast cancer and volunteering for the Pacific Whale Foundation. Her passion for whales and dolphins was fulfilled by being a member of the San Diego Zoo, yearly whale watching trips to Mexico plus trips to Australia and the east coast.

After her diagnosis of a pancreatic carcinoma, she wanted to be near family so she and her husband created a wonderful home in Tacoma that would serve as a place for holidays, family dinners and summer pool parties. Don’t expect to go swimming until you picked weeks in the vegetable gardens.

Her accounting skills assisted the family numerous times. She generously gave of her time, using her valuable skills to identify problems and provide direction for solving them. She expected her family to work hard, do their best, do no harm, and practice random acts of kindness, all which she modeled in during her life.

Pat is survived by her spouse James Hansen of Tacoma, stepmother Lisa Kindt of Tacoma, sister Kathryn Kindt (spouse John Murphy) of Fairbanks, AK, brothers William Kindt of Milton and James Kindt of Tacoma, half-sister Jamie Kindt (spouse Jason Weisberg) of Ashford, WA, cousins and numerous nieces and nephews.

Family requests remembering Pat through support of the Pacific Whale Foundation, http://www.pacificwhale.org. A rosary will be said on Friday, February 21st, at Powers Funeral Home in Puyallup at 7:00 pm. A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, February 22, 10:00 a.m., All Saints Catholic Church in Puyallup. Graveside service and reception to follow. A celebration of life will be held at a future date in San Diego, CA.