She was born on August 8, 1934 to Walter and Cleo Hanstad, in the middle of the Great Depression in Mount Vernon, WA. She was the eldest of three, with a sister, Fay, and a brother, Frank. She grew up on Big Lake, just outside Mount Vernon, Washington. Her paternal grandmother played a large role in her upbringing. She used to tell us that she pretty much lived at the lake, and would often swim across it. She recalled that, when she was little, she wanted to grow up to be an Indian; she was disappointed when she found out that you had to be born one. She was very proud of her dad, Walter. He was a logging truck driver and a hardworking man. She was very proud of her Scandinavian/Norwegian heritage. At a young age she decided to become Catholic and became a very religious woman.
She eventually left Washington and moved to California where she met the love of her life on a blind date, a Navy man named Michael Sansone, and married him on July 23, 1959. They didn’t have much, but she shared many fond memories of the small apartment they lived in and the life they started together.
They were eventually transferred to Bremerhaven Germany where she learned German and was able to converse and get things done. While living there she gave birth to a son, Michael (AKA Deo), and a daughter, Sophia. She loved traveling to other European countries with our dad and experiencing the different cultures.
The next overseas station was Ireland. We lived in the basement apartment of Beech Hill House, which is now a bed and breakfast wedding destination. She was afraid of heights, so the day that she went up to kiss the Blarney Stone was a difficult one for her, especially when we ran up towards the edge of the wall with only a chain to keep us from falling over.
We then moved to California, and after a short stint in Mare Island we wound up in San Diego. While there she decided she wanted to become a court reporter and discovered she loved the law. While attending school she still found time to keep us entertained by taking trips to Sea World and all the other attractions in that city. She even took us Grunion hunting one time in La Jolla. We didn’t even catch any but the hunt with mom was fun. While in San Diego she learned to scuba dive and joined Dad on many dives in San Diego and Mexico.
From San Diego we moved to Monterey in 1974, so that she and Dad could learn Portuguese at the Defense Language Institute. In her free time, she enjoyed Fisherman’s Wharf and Cannery Row. She would take us to Santa’s Village, the Mystery Spot, and Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk.
After Monterey it was off to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. She loved it there and had a lot of fond memories of the people there. Her favorite pet there was a parrot named Poppy. While there she took a job with the DEA, to continue with her love of the law. She managed that, our home, and made sure we all had what we needed.
From Brazil, we wound up in Stockton, California. She took a job with the San Joaquin Sherriff’s Department to continue her law enforcement career. She created a stable home and got us through high school.
After Stockton, Dad was transferred to Jacksonville Florida. That was the hardest move she had to make; it was her first time away from her children. While in Florida she took a job with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement working in the evidence room. Her first grandchild, Bethany, was born while they were in Florida. She was afraid of flying so she took a Greyhound bus out to Stockton to meet her.
In 1988 when Dad retired after thirty-two and a half years in the Navy, they moved to Valley Springs, bought some property, and built a home. She loved animals so every time she came across a stray, it “would follow her home”. One time when she and Bethany went to a garage sale, she brought home a horse. She loved working so she would commute from Valley Springs to Stockton to work jobs with the Kelly Girls temp. agency. Both Sophia and I got married in the mid-nineties, I married Terry and Sophia married Tom. Eventually her next granddaughter, Alyssa, was born and soon after her first grandson Gavin. About a year later she was blessed with one last granddaughter, Micaela. She discovered that she loved being a Mimi and would spend as much time with her grandchildren as possible. She would drive to Stockton twice a day to pick up and drop off Micaela and Alyssa. She played a large role in the raising and teaching of her grandchildren. Seventeen years ago, Bethany gave her a great grandson, Anthony.
Over the past few years’ dementia had taken a toll on her short-term memory but it never affected all the great memories she had of her childhood or of our past traveling the world which she would share with us often.
Being a Navy wife made her a strong woman. Moving every few years, we didn’t develop long-lasting friendships but she taught us the importance of family and kept us close. When Dad was overseas, she was the equivalent of a single mother, working and taking care of us by herself. She was the glue that kept her family together.
She refused to see the bad in people, always focusing on the good in them. She never had a bad thing to say about anyone.
She led by example to teach her children acceptance of everyone, how to be generous, and once again, the importance of family.
She loved to work and always worked hard; she taught us the importance of a great work ethic. After she left work to help care for her grandchildren, she would make quilts and donate them, sew things for her children and grandchildren and do anything she could find to keep busy.
She showed us how important family was when her mother got ill. She brought her to live with her and Dad and cared for her in her declining years, always by her side.
She was a tough woman, one day she was up on the back of her property chasing her goats and fell and broke her leg. She crawled more than 500 feet to get back to the house to call for help.
She was loved by her family and everyone who met her. She had a great sense of humor, a contagious smile, a hearty laugh, and an optimistic attitude.
We were fortunate enough to celebrate her 89th birthday this year as well as her and Dad’s 64th wedding anniversary with her, two huge milestones.
She was our everything, passing on September 1st 2023, and while we will miss her greatly, we’ll always cherish our memories of her. While it was hard to let her go and say goodbye, we’re happy because a woman like her will definitely have a spot reserved in heaven.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your local animal shelter in her name.
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