Michael Omar Hanna

Mike was a first generation American born in Pennsylvania in 1931. His parents, Esper and Mary Hanna, emigrated here from Syria in the early 1920s. He had five siblings, George, Gabriel, Ruth, Naomi and David. The family moved to Markleysburg, Pennsylvania when the kids were little when Esper was hired to manage a restaurant called the “Lone Star” along Route 40. Esper later purchased the restaurant and their house next door.

When Mike started school, his mom went with him; so, she could learn English. It was a one-room schoolhouse for first through eighth grade. When Mike went to high school, he played trombone in the marching band. He also played the drums and rode motorcycles in his youth. He then went on to earn a college degree in history.

Mike joined the Air Force during the Korean war and was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi as a radar operator. His son, Mark, remembers him wearing the same bomber jacket several years later during those freezing snowstorms in Pennsylvania.

Mike worked for Tom McCann shoe company opening stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 1959, the company asked him to go to California to open stores there; so, he moved the family to Southern California. Eventually, all his siblings and their parents also moved to Southern California. At the time of the move, he was married and had four children, Michael, Mark, Dan, and Debbie. He later had a second marriage and adopted his wife's two girls, Jana and Stacy. His third marriage was to Susan who brought four children with her, Anna, Donna Jean, Matt and Julie.

Mike switched careers to data processing for about 30 years, working for companies such as Autonetics in Anaheim, Avco Financial in Newport Beach and Arco corporate offices where he volunteered at the local Pasadena grade schools and eventually became head of the children's literacy volunteer program at Arco. Every year there was a writing competition for the students, and the winners were taken to the New Year's Day parade in Pasadena (the good bleacher seats).

Mike and Susan were introduced by a mutual friend (i.e. blind date.) For their first date, Mike thought he would impress Susan by taking her to a restaurant that had lobster. When he suggested the lobster, she said, “No, I have that all the time.” (He didn’t know her Ex went deep sea diving and brought lobster over quite often.) The first time Susan invited Mike to her house for dinner, Susan offered him some jam for his biscuit, and he said, “Only if you have homemade blackberry jam.” Well of course, Susan had some that she made herself; so, he had to marry her after that.

Mike was a good bowler, and while working at Avco, he played in their bowling league. He even convinced Susan to learn to bowl, and she joined him in the league for a few years. He was also a little league umpire for quite a few years while they lived in La Habra, CA.

On Susan’s first birthday after they married, Mike asked her what she wanted for her birthday. Her response was that she wanted him to quit smoking. He said alright, put out the cigarette and never smoked again.

Susan was a nurse, and Mike decided to volunteer at the hospital on her floor during the weekends she worked. There was a lot of the “patient in room such and such” talk at the dinner table after that. Good thing none of us had a weak stomach.

When Mike and Susan retired, they moved to Grants Pass, Oregon where some of her nursing friends had moved, and they made many lifelong friends. Mike decided to start a new career at the Rural Metro Fire Department becoming an EMT, and he worked in various jobs with the fire department for about 30 years, until the age of 92. He was even Smokey the Bear at the local schools for a while and volunteered with the Special Olympics in California and Oregon where he was honored as Josephine County coach of the year.

Mike also loved to sing and was in a barbershop quartet for some years when he was young. He also sang in the church choir at St. Luke’s Orthodox Church in Garden Grove, CA during his years in Southern California. (His monthly poker game was made up of his friends from the church too.) When they moved to Oregon, he volunteered at St. Anne’s Catholic Church where they were members, becoming the children’s choir director for many years.

Susan created a large garden in Oregon, including a vegetable/fruit garden and a beautiful flower garden. Mike wasn't much of a handyman or gardener, but whenever Susan wanted a load of dirt for the garden, he would drive the truck. You could also see him out there on his riding mower, and when the grandkids would visit, he would give them rides.

In Oregon, Mike had a group of friends who went golfing twice a week. Mike always kept score! Even after he couldn't golf anymore, he still went along to keep score for the guys. He really enjoyed their camaraderie and looked forward to going out to lunch after golfing.

Mike passed away three days before his 95 birthday and would have celebrated 50 years of marriage with Susan in October. He asked that there be no services for him. He leaves behind his wife Susan, his last living sibling David, and his many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to all of Mike and Susan’s friends and neighbors in Oregon, including Stephanie and Rick who lived at the end of their street and Judy whose home was next door, for their generosity over the years and especially for the help Mike and Susan received over the last few years.

Mike’s latest advice (because you know he loved giving advice) to his great-granddaughter Katie who is pregnant with Mike’s first great-great-grandchild and his grandson Hadwin whose partner is pregnant, was to make sure your kids know they are loved. He said nothing else matters except loving the Lord and each other.

We hope you knew you were loved Dad!

Children: Mike (Deceased) and Mollie, Mark and Karen, Dan and Diane, Debbie, Jana, Stacy, Anna and Eric, Donna Jean (Deceased), Matt and Lisa, and Julie and Jim.

Grandchildren*: Jennifer, Andrea, Jason, Jonathan, Parker, Angelique, Sam, Jake, James, Caitlyn, John, Hannah, Megan, Hadwin (Eric), and Matthew.

Great-Grandchildren*: Steven, Kaitlyn, Michael, Sebastian, Thor, Freya, Lucas, Payton, Gage, Ford, Kennedy, Emma, Scarlette, Draven, Finn and Fisher.

--Authored by Mike’s daughter, Julie Dorsey.

*I know there are a few other grandchildren and great-grandchildren that are not listed as I don’t know your names, but I know you were all in Mike’s thoughts and prayers always.