Michael Miller Hansen

Mike was a long-time resident of Houston, Texas and raised a great family. After 50-years in the area, he counted himself as a near-Texan, but the occasional reference to “Frajitas” belied his Boston roots.

He was the only son of Hans & Anne Hansen and came up in the Boston area. Marshfield and Duxbury, the cape and south Boston environs were his stomping grounds. A little Boston story-telling made him fast friends in the South and the loquacious exuberance showed up most often in social circumstances bestowing almost other-worldly attributes on his kids and grandkids. People seemed to appreciate Mike and loved speaking with him.

His developmental path took him from Labrador, to Colorado, to Texas and NASA. Mike was a pioneer in the computer and space industry. He first worked on the Whirlwind II computer, which now resides in the Smithsonian Institute. At NASA, Mike was an early actor at the Johnson Space Center and set up the Computer and Analytics Center – in fact Mike ran the room. When Margaret met Mike at NASA, people told her “You better not touch anything without checking with Mike Hansen”, which surprised the first-woman programmer ever hired by Humble Oil company (now Exxon). Mike’s leadership in the computer field led him through all the big names – Wolfe, Sperry, Univac, Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment (DEC) and Compaq. In a pre - IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) era, Mike led teams that put in the latest of technology, including automated “lights-out” production systems that were 100% computerized and led the world into the modern production methodologies we see today.

Mike was a career “Houston-guy” with a family-first mantra that kept him in H-town. It gave him the fortitude to pass up offers to go literally around the world – all for the sake of family stability. Along the way, Mike tried to give people good work and a useful feeling. He helped everyone help themselves - “Do your best.” “Don’t be too hard on yourselves. (That’s my job.)” Mike made many decisions others remember like investing in kids’ education and travel, rather than fixing his car’s AC despite Houston’s scorching temperatures.

He is preceded in death by his mother Ann McGrath Hansen, father Hans Miller Hansen, and sister Mary Hansen Plett. Mike is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Margaret DeWitt Hansen and their three children: Michael DeWitt and his wife Leslie and their four children, Emma, Michael Jr, William, and Wyatt; Hans William and his wife Shelby and their three children Bragen, Ella, and Remi; Matthew DeWitt and his wife Christa and their daughter Marie Carol. He is also survived by his sister Anne Gill and his nieces/nephews in the NE (Christine & Suzanne Plett; Theresa, Gene & Patrick Gill), the many brothers and sisters-in-law of the DeWitt family, and numerous nephews and nieces, who have welcomed and loved Mike for all these years.

He has felt the loving embrace of his family and the many friends who have been with him for many years. He enjoyed Houston, Galveston and especially Alvin for decades while raising a family. Many friends came from groups he participated in like Christian Family Movement in the early 1970’s. What slowly evolved over time to the “Old Timer’s Dinner Club”, started almost five decades ago as a group dedicated to marriage and strong families. Viva Posada parties!!

For nearly 50 years, Mike was an active member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, where three sons and four of his grandchildren attended grade school. He was a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and strongly supported many groups dedicated to the service of others.

Visitation will be from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, with Evening Vesper Prayers at 7:00 pm on Monday, October 2 and the Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 am Tuesday, October 3; both at St. Vincent de Paul, 6800 Buffalo Speedway at Bellaire/Holcombe.

Those wishing to offer a gift are asked to contribute to the St. Vincent de Paul capital campaign.