Donald Gordon Hansen

We’ve all heard Don’s exclamation of frustration when things were going in a way that was unexpected. We heard it when he was falling behind in cards or marbles. We heard it when the fire wasn’t working out. And we would be hearing it now. He would have loved to have had us all together for a party. He would have been thankful for all the people who joined in on-line and he would have loved to build the size of the party and made this the biggest strawberry party ever. And he would be terribly frustrated at not being physically present to look after everyone’s enjoyment. What more can I say about my friend. I’ve made a few notes. I wish I had Don’s capacity for planning. Don was always prepared. He thought through every detail of his parties or road trips or just about anything else. He could be spontaneous, but I always suspected he planned for his spontaneous moments.

I met Don about twenty one years ago.

My neighbor Dave Van Der Hoop introduced Christina and I to Don and Karen at a New Years Eve / Bon Voyage party.

We spoke at length during the party and hit it off right away. He spoke about his epic strawberry parties and how he had recently left his job at a bindery and He and Karen had decided to take the opportunity to travel with their RV. Ordinary people might travel for a week or maybe a month. Don never did anything halfway. When Don decided on something, he was all in. Don and Karen travelled all around North America and we didn’t see them again for almost a year. When they returned they bought their house in Langley and Don found new work, first as a warehouse minion (hated it) and later cleaning ducts.

They returned to their “normal” social life and planned a Strawberry party for the summer. They asked their good friend Dave to invite that nice couple they had met at the New Years party. After all the talk at the New Years party, I didn’t know what to expect. He had spoken of all the games and music, dancing and fun and the stories around the fire (with port of course). We arrived at the party and were met by Don. He introduced us around and got us involved in volleyball and badminton games and rushed off to take care of the music. All age groups were represented and kids were chasing Don around trying (and succeeding) to get him to play games with them. Don would protest weakly (in his Donald Duck voice) and join in. Don seemed to be everywhere keeping everyone entertained and happy. He kept the music rolling. Rock and Roll became a central theme throughout our relationship. The party was all that he described and more and we were thrilled to have met such wonderful people.

Don’s love of parties likely started very early in his life. Grandma Hansen would arrange for a large party of family and friends at Lumberman’s Arch every year. These were not optional events. Don’s social skills were likely acquired in these formative years and he continued with yearly gatherings of friends and family for his entire life. Not all activities went as planned. One year at a family gathering, Don was climbing a stump and lost his balance. He fell into a hornets nest and was stung numerous times. Terrified he was left standing motionless completely surrounded by hornets. He never got over his hatred of hornets.

Shortly after the party Don convinced me that my ducts needed to be cleaned in my town house and volunteered to bring his truck around. While working he discussed the power of the vacuum in his truck and proceeded to prove it accidently when repositioning the hose and sucking two wine bottles up the steps and out to the truck. We laughed so hard we could hardly make it up the stairs in pursuit. The screen at the truck stopped the bottles and one bottle survived. It was delicious.

We spent many evenings together talking, listening to Rock and Roll and playing games. I learned that Don could grasp rules and strategy of new games very quickly. I also learned that he was not great at explaining games to others. Don had an amazing memory. He could track every card played. Don’s skill at games and amazing memory often led to Don correctly predicting the cards remaining in our hand. He won far more often than he lost. Thank Goodness. Don didn’t like to lose. He would always congratulate you on beating him and spend a moment trying to understand how it could have happened and immediately introduce a new game. He would teach us… .Don was always looking for play in every situation, when we listened to music it became a trivia game about songs, artists and year. Don rarely could be stumped.

Don’s memory extended to all things. His knowledge of music was incredible. If he had heard the artist he could recall them. He could recall every road and highway he had travelled and could remember the names of every town he had ever visited. He could discuss wines that he had sampled on a trip many years in the past and describe the scenery viewed from the winery. His shop was filled with anything you could think of and yet everything he kept, he envisioned a use for, and he could describe exactly where you could find it.

Don was a voracious reader although he wasn’t a big fan of books. He read the newspaper front to back every day and he researched any items that interested him on the internet. He collected magazines ranging from sports to home repair and read the farmers almanac every year. He was an avid weather watcher with multiple weather stations around the house. His concern likely derived from experiencing Typhoon Freda in 1962. He could speak intelligently on just about any topic. He had a mind for science and was always trying to figure out how everything worked. We shared a love for NASA and their efforts in space. We had marvellous conversations.

In 2003 I was transferred to Kelowna. Our visits became less frequent and more precious. We would travel to Langley for the weekend and spend our time helping out with chores, swimming, and playing games. Don was very proud of his gardens and our dinners were often planned around what was ready to be harvested. Don never spoke much of his past, but I learned that his mother always kept a vegetable garden. There was something very special about selecting your own potatoes, corn, vegetables and fruits for your meals. We would also often order food in. Don loved pizza as long as it was ham and pineapple from Pizza Hut.

When Don and Karen would come to Kelowna, we would often go on wine tours. Their knowledge of wine and experiences with wine districts throughout North America made the trips a lot of fun. We planned many road trips. My job always got in the way.

In 2005 Karen shared her Cancer diagnosis. As a nurse she new exactly what she could expect from the treatments. As her cancer progressed Karen resisted slowing down, filling her life with experiences and accomplishments as well as several trips including a trip to Scotland.. Don remained supportive throughout. Our visits would always begin with a sharing of symptoms and issues around her cancer but would always shift to their latest experiences or trips and progress to laughter and games and talks of plans for the future. When Karen lost her battle with Cancer, Don was crushed. Having grieved for five years throughout the progression of her cancer, he seemed lost and filled his days with household chores and projects in solitude. Eventually he was encouraged to return to his social ways by Mark, a very good friend of 35 years, and ultimately met Rena.

When we first met Rena we were both struck by how well she seemed to fit with Don. Rena brought out the best in Don and gave some direction for his huge ambitions. They completed renovations in the house and started plans for Don’s antique garage. They went on numerous road trips. They spent time in antique shops where Don’s eye always seemed to fall on hidden treasures. Wherever they went Don had an uncanny ability to find trains. I expect that Don inherited his love of trains from his father. I remember a trip to Langley when we decided on an outing to Fort Langley. Don parked at a lot by the river on the wrong side of the tracks. As we approached the tracks we saw a slow moving train approaching. We crossed the tracks safely and stopped and watched the train pass us. As it passed Don described all the relevant features of the train. The model of the engine, its power and mass. The potential length of the train and description of the mixed freight cars in tow. He talked about the effect of the passing train on the rail bed, rails, and cross ties and described the necessary maintenance. The train eventually left us and we continued toward the main street. As we approached town we came across a rail car sitting on a short rail section operating as a small rail museum. We stepped aboard. We did eventually make it to town. It has been wonderful to spend time with Don and Rena.

In 2011 I was planning my 50th birthday in Abbotsford. The person that was hosting my party fell ill and Don and Rena immediately stepped up allowing us to hold the event at their place. Don helped to plan some games and provided a “wheel of misfortune” for distribution of gifts to guests. Don and Rena were amazing hosts and the party remains one of my fondest memories of my life.

In 2012 Don and Rena were married. The wedding was beautiful and as the reception progressed Don appeared to be in his element. Some subtle changes were starting to show on Don. He was playing some country music in amongst the Rock and Roll. When I asked him about it he replied that he liked country music. (I’ve seen his party mixes and the only country song was the Rodeo Song).

In 2016 I acquired a BC Tel phone booth. When I mentioned the phone booth to Don and mentioned that it was on the sunshine coast, he volunteered to pick it up on his next trip to visit Karens Mom. He suggested he could deliver it to Kelowna and I offered a three day pass to Rock the Lake at Prospera Place. Rock the Lake is an outdoor event on a parking lot in the middle of summer in Kelowna. Temperatures averaged 35 degrees Celsius. We spent three days listening to some wonderful music played by a great line up of performers. By the middle of day two, Rena admitted she may not be as big a fan of Rock as Don. By the middle of day three we were all pretty tired. We lost Rena to the casino across the road between sets on day two. By day three we all crossed the street between sets. The air conditioning was wonderful.

We had accompanied Don and Rena to a Casino a number of times over the years. Don had a remarkable talent for choosing slots that were ready to pay and seemed to time his play to consistently walk out of the casino with several large wins in his pocket.

Don was a jack of all trades. He was equally at ease with machinery and construction techniques. He was constantly working on something and was not daunted by large projects. The last large project he completed was a carport structure for his RV, but it was not the last project he had planned. I discovered a number of tools he had purchased for his next project when taking care of some chores while Don was in hospice. Right up to his last days he continued to talk about future projects and was planning a train trip on the Rocky Mountaineer with Rena.

Don was larger than life. He lived every day to the max.

Don had strong opinions but was always willing to listen to opposing viewpoints before dismissing them.

Don was curious and was constantly trying to figure things out.

Don was passionate about anything he was interested in, and he seemed to be interested in everything. He loved to watch sports and owned a great deal of memorabilia, he loved music and his music collection was enormous, He loved travel and collected memories in many forms, he loved Disneyland, he loved science (especially NASA), he loved trains, he loved antiques, but most of all he loved Karen. He loved Rena. He loved his family and friends. Don loved deeply and completely in his stoic Scandinavian manner and we all loved him.

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It is with great sadness that we announce Don's passing. He fought so hard and was stoic to the end.

He was predeceased by his parents Norman and Helen and his first wife Karen.

He is survived and will be missed by his wife Rena and her family, sons Craig (Erica) and Adam (Alex). He was adored by his "Dede" fan club, Layne, Blake, Wyatt and Reese.

He also leaves behind his family who was dear to him. His sister Shirley(John) Sawatzky, brother Larry(Marlene), nieces and nephews Kristin (Bryce), Aaron, Derek(Jessica) and Katrina (Garry)

He will be missed by Karen's family. Her sister Wendy (Ian) Ogden, brother Doug (Elspeth) Kier and their children and families.

Don always made sure you had a beverage in your hand, tunes playing and that a good time was had by all.

Our sincere thanks to all of the staff at the Abbotsford Cancer Centre and to the compassionate nurses at Langley Hospice for their care and support during this difficult time.

Due to COVID 19 restrictions there will be a small private family service.

In lieu of flowers, if you are able, please become a blood donor or support the Canadian Blood Services or B.C. Cancer Foundation.

I would like to thank everyone that has been on this journey with Don and I. We felt your support from the beginning, 18 months ago, to this very day. We needed and appreciated every phone call, text, email and visit to help us get through our days.

To say we will miss Don is an understatement. He will be remembered with love in so many ways by so many, and he will be forever in my heart.

Rena