Gary Rea Hanson

Beloved husband to Cheryl and father to Jason and Jill, Gary was born to Dixie Don Hanson and Marjory (Rhoads) Hanson in Falls City, Nebraska on July 15, 1942. They moved to Kansas City when Gary was a child where his father Don worked for the Vendo Corporation. Gary went to Paseo High School where he was in ROTC. After graduation, he went first to Junior College in Kansas City and then off to the University of Missouri where he received a degree in business.

Gary met the love of his life, Cheryl Gooch, after her high school graduation in the summer of 1962. They became engaged in 1965 and they married on June 5th of 1966. Their oldest son Jason was born in 1970 and their daughter Jill was born in 1971.

Gary went to Army basic training in 1967 and he was in that branch for 9 years during which he went to Korea for training for 3 weeks. Next, he transferred to the Navy Reserves and then later transferred to the Army National Guard. His highest rank was “Chief Aviation Storekeeper” when he was in the Navy. He retired from the armed services in March of 1996.

Gary’s first employer was Bendix and then he went to Vendo Corporation and then he went on to work at Puritan Bennett and then later back to Bendix which later became Honeywell. He was an Industrial Engineer and he belonged to the American Institute of Industrial Engineers. He also did volunteer work with Kiwanis and Youth Friends.

Gary and Cheryl joined the Mid America Mustangers in the 1980’s to show their beloved 1967 Fastback Mustang and then later joined the Kansas City Corvette Association with their Corvette. Gary loved detailing his cars and the camaraderie of car shows and the many road trips that they went on with their car friends. One time, they drove their Corvette 4000 miles and back to Idaho for a car show where my dad was proud to report that he got 29 miles per gallon!

Gary and Cheryl loved to socialize with their friends. They joined the Covenant Class at Blue Ridge United Methodist Church in 1973 and have enjoyed the friends that they made there ever since. They were in a Chief’s club and loved hosting Chiefs parties. Gary was a dedicated fan to his alma mater Mizzou and would often be wearing their emblem on his clothes and cars.

Gary and Cheryl loved to travel and were world travelers and did so by car, by planes, by ships and even by train. They traveled to Egypt, India, Panama Canal, Costa Rica, China, French Polynesia, Japan, Korea, Cambodia and many other far away destinations as well as much of the United States.

Gary was preceded in death by both of his parents.

Survivors include wife Cheryl of Lee’s Summit, son Jason of Raytown, daughter Jill and husband Brad with their two sons Cooper and Chase of Leawood, mother-in-law Lois Gooch and her sister Joyce Smith of Lee’s Summit, sister-in-law Carolyn Smith and her daughter Lori Johnson and her fiancé Bill and her two sons Thomas and Daniel of Shawnee, and brother-in-law David Gooch and his wife Lori and their daughter Allison, her husband Shawn and their son Wesley of Georgia.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to:

The Blue Ridge Boulevard United Methodist Church

5055 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64133;

Woods Chapel Methodist Church

4725 NE Lakewood Way, Lee's Summit, MO 64064;

Lee’s Summit Firefighter Charities

IAFF Local 2195, PO BOX 1944, Lee's Summit MO 64063

(www.IAFF2195.org)

The family will have a private, family-only ceremony at McGilley State Line Chapel, 12301 State Line Road, Kansas City, MO 64145 on Saturday September 26th. A public drive-through outdoor visitation will follow at 4pm where you will be able to drive up to the family to extend your condolences in a car line and then park and chat with others if you please. This could turn into a rare combination Mustang and Corvette car show! We would love to see you all there.

Due to Jackson County guidelines, invitees for the private service will be required to wear face masks and practice social distancing, but masks will not be required for the outdoor visitation.