Stuart Robert Hansen

Stuart Robert Hansen, 75, of Annapolis, Maryland, formerly of Malvern, Pennsylvania and Centreville, Maryland, passed away peacefully on May 9, 2025, after a long illness. He is survived by his children Elizabeth (Dave) Gross of Annapolis, Kristen (Brian) Corona of Severna Park, Maryland, and Stuart Jr. “Duke” (Alison Priebe) of Philadelphia. Stuart was immensely proud of his five grandchildren—Miller, James, Christian, Grace, and Alida. He was heartbroken to be preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Sue Hansen, as well as his parents, George Hansen and Jeanne Hansen King, and his siblings George Hansen, Jr., and Blossom Patterson.

Stuart was born in Rocky River, Ohio, in 1949, and moved with his family shortly thereafter to Haverford, Pennsylvania, where he attended the Haverford School. He spent childhood summers at Camp Chimney Point in Maine, where he learned to sail and forged lifelong friendships. A gifted musician, Stuart played the guitar in bands throughout high school and college. During college summers on Nantucket Island, he surfed by day and performed at the Chicken Box by night. It was there, on Nobadeer Beach, that he met Sue at age 20 and quickly fell in love.

Stuart graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. He and Sue married in 1972 and eventually settled in Malvern, where they raised their three children.

Stuart joined the family business, The Hansen Paper Company, working alongside his father and eventually becoming President and partnering with his brother, George. He had the uncanny ability to taste a paper napkin or tissue paper and name the mill it came from. This amused his friends and embarrassed his children.

He and Sue shared a love of the water. Long before buying a house, they owned a sailboat, and spent decades sailing the Chesapeake Bay and the northeastern seaboard with their children and friends aboard their beloved ketch, Nobadeer. They were active members of both the Gibson Island Yacht Squadron in Maryland and the Corinthian Yacht Club in Philadelphia.

In the early 1990s, at an Agnes Irwin School third-grade parent cocktail party, serendipity reunited Stuart with a childhood bandmate, leading to the creation of The Geezers, a rock ‘n’ roll band. The Geezers practiced in a barn and developed a devoted local following, playing at numerous fundraisers and late into the night at epic parties at the Hansens’ home for years to come.

Stuart’s passions extended beyond sailing and music. He was a gifted racquet sports player competing on the Merion Cricket Club men’s squash team into his 40s. He had a love of cars and driving fast. A true road warrior, he preferred roadtrips to air travel and made countless treks up and down the East Coast and to the midwest for business trips, family vacations, and to help his children move. He was a spectacular fisherman and family trips were often designed around the opportunity to cast a fly rod.

In 2009, Stuart and Sue fulfilled a longtime dream and retired to the banks of the Corsica River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. There, they further expanded their circle of friends and fully immersed themselves in the Chesapeake lifestyle, living by what they called “summer rules,” year-round.

Together, Stuart and Sue built a life filled with music, laughter, and a lot of fun. They taught their children to celebrate at every opportunity. Anyone they met never stayed a stranger for long. Their home was always open with room for more at the table, which led to unforgettable dinner parties, cookouts, musical collaborations, holidays, and too many gatherings to count over the years. Stuart delighted in his children and treated their friends as extensions of his own family—always welcoming them into his home with kindness and gentle humor.

When his body failed him late in life, Stuart was forced to give up boating, driving, and eventually guitar. He lived vicariously through family and his loyal friends who would visit him and share stories and memories. In these moments, Stuart could be found always listening and laughing, never complaining. The loss of his lifelong partner in 2023 took a sparkle from Stuart’s eye that is only returning now that they are back together, sailing, singing, and laughing once again.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Church of the Redeemer, 230 Pennswood Rd, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, on Monday, June 2 at 10:30 a.m. Stuart’s family is deeply grateful for his extraordinary hospice caregivers and asks that donations be made in his memory to the Luminis Health Gilchrist Lifecare Institute, 2000 Medical Parkway, Suite 604, Annapolis, MD 21401 https://supportaamc.luminishealth.org/gilchristlifecareinstitute