Louise (Ada) Gilbert Sletten-Hahn, age 94, passed away at 9:30 AM, 27 Jan 2023 at Legacy Village Assisted Living Center, Xenia, Ohio. Louise was born on March 3, 1928 in Lisbon, ND to Alta L. (Hanna) and Hiram B. Gilbert and graduated from Lisbon High School in 1946. She attended the Minneapolis Business College, completed their Junior Accounting program in March 1947 and gained employment with the Fargo Veterans Administration.
In Fargo, she met Willis H. Sletten of Churches Ferry ND and they married in Aug 1950. After he graduated NDAC (now NDSU) in 1953, his work as an agricultural engineer took them first to Bottineau, ND, then to Kermanshah, Iran with the Near East Foundation from 1954 to 1956. Returning to the US, they settled in Amarillo, TX from 1956 to 1967 with USDA. Louise was a loving mother, homemaker, active in Parent Teachers Association at Olsen Park Elementary and worked as a civil servant at Amarillo Air Force Base from 1964-1967. The 1967 Arab-Israeli War curtailed another assignment with the Near East Foundation to Africa, so they moved to Salinas, CA in 1967 where Willis worked with the USDA Soil Conservation Service. With son Peter playing sports, they were active in the Boosters Club and Louise became president of the North Salinas High School PTA. They were founding members of Sons of Norway Aasgaarden Lodge #112 in Monterey, CA in 1974. She lost Willis suddenly in Nov 1977. Louise went on to work at Santa Rita Elementary School from 1978 to 1980, then returned to government service with the Social Security Administration until 1986.
In June 1986, she married Roger E. Hahn of Nappanee, IN. Roger (a widowed WW2 buddy of Willis’s) was a farming auctioneer and also enjoyed traveling. Their travels included Canada, Europe, South America, Korea, Thailand, Macao and Hong Kong. Louise grew to know and love his family and friends, helped with the accounting and booking sales for Roger’s family business. Louise moved to Legacy Village Independent Living in Xenia, OH in May 2015.
Louise was ready to visit with folks and made many friends wherever her travels took her. She was a member of Lisbon Presbyterian Church, St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Amarillo and Northminster Presbyterian Church in Salinas. She attended Church of the Brethren in Nappanee. She made many Sletten reunions and Hanna, Gilbert, and Lisbon High School class reunions over the years. She loved Christmas, her Schnauzers, her and Willis’s Norwegian heritage and working in her flower gardens.
Louise is survived by son Major (USAF Ret.) John G. Sletten (Bethina A. Lang- Sletten) of Beavercreek, OH; granddaughter Hillary R. Sletten (Philip Lee) of Houston TX; grandsons Major (USAF) Sean M. Sletten (Kaitlyn R. (White)) and Major (USAF) Wayne T. Sletten (Katelyn D. (Yeager)). She is survived by six great-grandchildren: Isla, Rosalia, Emily, Hugo, Anna and Henry. Her son Peter B. Sletten predeceased her in January 2022 and is survived by her granddaughters Kirsten I. (Sletten) and husband Ryan Daley, and Cassondra L. Sletten, both of Driggs, Idaho.
Louise was preceded in death by her parents, Hiram B. (1960) and Alta L. (Hanna) (2001) Gilbert, husbands Willis H. Sletten (1977) and Roger E. Hahn (2019), son Peter B. Sletten (2022).
A visitation is planned at Tobias Funeral Home in Beavercreek, OH, on Thursday, 2 February from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. She will be flown home to North Dakota for burial with her family at Oakwood Cemetery, Lisbon, ND. A graveside ceremony in April/May will be planned through Dahlstrom’s Funeral Home in Lisbon ND.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Farm Rescue, 11202 38th St. S., Horace, ND, 58047; Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave, Dayton, OH 45420; Legacy Village Foundation Fund or a favorite charity.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.tobias-fh.com for the Sletten-Hahn family or the Dahlstrom Funeral Home website www.dahlstromfuneralhome.com on their obituary page.
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