Elizabeth Anne Hanson

Elizabeth Anne Boughton Hanson (“Betty”), age 98, died on January 7, 2026, in Boulder, Colorado. Born April 20, 1927, in Crookston, Minnesota, Betty was raised in Red Lake Falls during the Great Depression, shaped by small-town life and the Red and Clearwater Rivers. She was the daughter of Charles Boughton, a county attorney, and Elizabeth Boughton (née Tousley), who was a suffragette.

Years later, Betty captured the spirit of that era in a serialized newspaper account of a kidnapping case that her father had prosecuted. Betty earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Minnesota in 1949, after completing three years of a five-year nursing program and then turning fully to writing and storytelling. She began her career as an editor at Minnesota Trucking News.

With her husband, Warren Thomas “Tom” Hanson, she co-owned and operated a photographic studio in Bayport, Minnesota, later in Bagley (1955–1970), and then in Bemidji (1970–1993). Betty ran

the business side and was an accomplished professional photographer, becoming the fifth woman in the Minnesota Professional Photographers Association to earn its “Ruby” certification, which honored excellence in photography.

A lifelong leader at First Presbyterian Church of Bemidji, Betty served as Deacon and Elder, sang in the choir, and rang in the handbell choir. Her volunteer service included the Kitchigami Regional Library Board, the Bemidji Food Shelf, Northwoods Caregivers as a driver, and many years as an election worker and judge.

Curious and adventurous, Betty learned to ski in the 1950s and took the University of Minnesota ski train from Minneapolis to Winter Park, Colorado. In 1950, she bicycled through postwar Europe on a Raleigh touring bike, carrying a canvas rucksack on her back. She visited all fifty US states, took her children to Europe in 1975, and later lived for a year in Akita, Japan, with her husband Eldon Lehman— an experience she chronicled in her memoir A Year in Akita. Her travels also included Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands.

In her 90s, she traveled to Churchill, Manitoba, to see the polar bears and ride a dogsled, and she traveled on Amtrak across Colorado. She never wanted to quit traveling because she loved how it made her feel: strong, independent, and smart. At the center of Betty’s life was a deep commitment to justice and equality. She championed education, libraries, democratic participation, and bodily autonomy. She served on the Bagley School Board, fought for library funding and public access to information, supported reproductive rights and Planned Parenthood, and volunteered as an election judge for decades. In her final year, she protested against authoritarianism and in favor of keeping public media accessible—her efforts were featured in

the Minnesota Star Tribune.

She is preceded in death by her first husband Warren Thomas Hanson (1981), her second husband Eldon Lehman (2006), and her brother Charles Boughton III (1977). She is survived by her son

Thomas C. Hanson and daughter-in-law Lori Hobkirk of Boulder, Colorado, and grandson Carter Hanson of Washington, DC; her daughter Beth “Buffy” Petrikin and son-in-law Joshua Petrikin of

Overland Park, Kansas, and granddaughters Annika Petrikin of Boston, Massachusetts, and Soren Petrikin of Overland Park, Kansas.

A memorial service will be held in Spring 2026 at First Presbyterian Church in Bemidji, Minnesota; details will be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Planned Parenthood, National Public Radio, or your local library.