Helen Marian Hansen

Helen was born on June 18, 1918, in Milwaukee, WI, to Jens and Marie Jensen, immigrants from Denmark. The following year, the family moved to Fresno, where Helen grew up and where, in 1933, her father co-founded Producers Dairy. Helen graduated from Fresno High School in 1936, and then attended Central California Commercial College. She had four brothers, Chris, Harold, Einar, and Elmer; and a sister Margaret, who have all preceded her in death.

The love of her life was William Hansen, whom she wed on May 11, 1940. During World War II, while Bill served in the United States Army, Helen took roomers into the home to supplement the family income. After the war, when Bill worked for Justesens Food Stores, Helen raised their two sons at home. In 1956, Helen and Bill bought their own business, Carter-Hansen Food Store, in Sanger, CA, and the family moved to Sanger. Upon their retirement in 1969, the two lived for some years in Santa Cruz, CA, before returning again to Fresno, where both were longtime members of the Bethel Lutheran Church. Helen and Bill were together for nearly 60 years before he passed away in 2007.

Helen loved being a homemaker and mother, playing piano and organ, and corresponding with her many friends and relatives in the United States and Denmark. She took much delight in her garden and in the birds that visited it daily, and the drama of stormy weather also gave her much pleasure. "I've had a good life and am thankful for it," she said. "God has surely been generous to me."

She is survived by her two sons, William Hansen Jr. and his wife Mary Beth, of Bloomington, IN, and James Hansen and his wife Marilyn, of Tucson, AZ; her two granddaughters, Inge Hansen, of San Francisco, CA, and Gina Hansen and her spouse Travis Kitchen, of Tucson, AZ; her step-granddaughter, Julene Jones, of Lexington, KY; and her great-grandchildren, Judah, Logan, and Reese.

A Memorial Service, open to all, will be held at Bethel Lutheran Church on Friday, June 5, 2015, at 11:00 a.m., with Reverend Stephen Carlson officiating.

Gifts in memory of Helen Hansen may be made to Bethel Lutheran Church, 187 N. Broadway, Fresno, CA 93701, or by telephone at 559-264-5385.