On August 28, 2024, Dr. Louis Lamoine Hansen, aged 98, of Sutherland, formerly of Kearney and Omaha, passed away at the Sutherland Care Center. Among the many incredible achievements of his life, writing a 28-page memoir was one. Capturing the brightest memories of his mind, a condensed version of Louis’s memoir follows:
“On Mother’s Day, May 9th, 1926, a son was born to Louis and Sena Hansen on a farm nine miles south of Minden, Nebraska. The fifth of eight children, I was that son weighing 10 and ¾ pounds. I now recount the occurrences which have, in my mind, affected the ebb and flow of my life.
My grade school, Kearney County District 30, was a one-room building heated by wood and a coal burning potbellied stove. All eight grades were in the same room, I was the only student in my grade for all eight years. My first paying job, on the farm, came when I was ten. One of the neighbors gave me twenty-five cents a day to drive a team of horses hitched to a hayrack.
My senior year in high school, I tested and qualified for the Airforce Flight Program. I didn’t have 20/20 vision so I didn’t pass the physical. As a result, I was drafted into the Army and was sent to basic training on November 16, 1944. I served in the 158th Regimental Combat Team (Bushmasters) as a rifleman in WWII in the Philippines and Japan. On May 16, 1947, I mustered out and took a Greyhound bus from Monterey, California to Minden. I worked for my dad as a carpenter and painter the rest of that summer until a friend talked me into going to college with him. I majored in social studies and physical education. Without a doubt, my greatest feat in Lincoln was finding the perfect girl. A good friend of mine set me up for a blind date with Marian Hufman. After a couple of months, I asked Marian to wear my Fraternity pin, and she accepted. I went home for Easter break and bought a ¼ carat keepsake engagement ring. Our first date after Easter, I proposed, and Marian accepted the ring. I graduated from Wesleyan and went home to Minden. Midway through the summer, I accepted a teaching and coaching job in Cedar Bluffs. On July 21, 1951, I married my beautiful Marian, who I can truthfully say is the only girl I have ever loved with the exception of my family. We moved back to Lincoln and I took a job as a door-to-door salesman for Omaha Baking Company. The birth of our first child, Bill, came on December 16, 1952. On December 24, 1954, we experienced the birth of our beautiful daughter, Barbara. We were then blessed with the birth of our third child, Bob, on November 9, 1959. Life doesn’t get any better than the growth of a family.
After 5 years in sales, I was offered a job in York, NE, as a teacher of history and geography and an assistant varsity football and track coach. I became the York school counselor in the fall of 1964. I was then asked to come to Kearney to interview for a position with the newly established Educational Service Unit. I was hired specifically to develop an elementary school guidance and counseling program. After developing the counseling program, I was employed by ESU 10 to be their special education director. At the end of the first year, our administrator decided to retire. I decided I would pursue my doctorate in school administration. I began my service as administrator of ESU 10 in 1971 and then received my doctorate in 1973. I retired on June 30, 1988. I thoroughly enjoyed my chosen profession and my responsibilities at the ESU 10.
I am so proud of our family. I consider all of my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to be very good looking. I guess if you want to have beautiful offspring, you should always marry a smart, beautiful girl. I think I did that.”
Louis lived a long, engaging life, leaving behind an empire of love within his family: his daughter, Barbara Uhrmacher; son, Robert (Darla) Hansen; grandchildren, Shannon (Brian) Rotert, Andrew Uhrmacher, Britnee (Nolan) Cormier, Lauran Hansen, and Louis Dane Hansen; great grandchildren, Drew and Maddyn Rotert, Archer Uhrmacher; sister, Joan (Richard) Nelson; brother-in-law, James Hufman; many nieces, nephews, and other family.
Those that Louis joined upon his passing are his beautiful wife, Marian; son, William “Bill”; son in law, Darrel; parents; brothers, Virgil and Gene; sisters, Shirley, Lucille, Margery, Delores; parents-in-law, Lewis and Virginia; sister-in-law, Nancy.
Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation and online condolences may be shared at www.adamsswanson.com.
A memorial service will be held on Monday, September 9, 2024, at 11 AM at the Sutherland Methodist Church with Rev. Mark Baldwin officiating. Adams & Swanson Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.