— Judy Diane(Miner) Hanson
Judy Diane (Miner) Hanson, 70, of Norseland passed to her Heavenly Home on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at Benedictine Community Living Center, St. Peter with husband Fred at her bedside following two strokes in the past five months.
Judy was born July 3, 1943 at St. Peter Community Hospital the daughter of Ralph G. and D Benita (Marquette) Miner. She was Baptized, Confirmed and married at Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Peter, MN.
Judy was active in Oshawa 4-H as a youth as well as a volunteer when her four children were members of Norseland 4-H. In high school she was on the yearbook committee.
A graduate of St Peter High School and Mankato State College where she had worked as a secretary in the Home Economics Department, Judy taught Home Ec at Nicollet High School and P.E. at John Ireland Elementary. Judy wrote articles for the St. Peter Herald from an Ag Viewpoint. She was a columnist for The Land Magazine and freelance writer for the Mankato Free Press and Rochester Agri News.
September 14, 1963, Judy was married to Fred C. Hanson, Jr of Norseland with their 50th anniversary coming up on Saturday, September 14, 2013 They continued to farm in Norseland area all these years. Judy and Fred remained active in Scandian Grover Lutheran Church where Judy served six years on the Church Council as well as numerous other committees. She was also an active member of Farm Bureau and was Ag Communicator of the year for MN Farm Bureau as well as involved with the Nicollet County and Minnesota Pork Producers Association and the Porkettes and Pork Council Women. Judy also served on the Nicollet County Historical Society board.
Judy was elected to the Nicollet County Board of Commissioners from 1995 through 2010 when she chose to retire. During her sixteen years on the board, she served on various committees including: Planning and Zoning, Sioux Trails Mental Health, Traverse de Sioux Library System and Minnesota River Valley. For the majority of those 16 years, Judy was the only female on the board. She was also chosen among the 20 people from Minnesota to be part of Mi-LEAD leadership group.
Survived by husband Fred, sons Chris (Jill) Hanson of Olivia, MN and Jay Hanson of Norseland; daughters Lena (Tate) Burckhardt of Lake Benton, MN and Grace Hanson (Michael Mechtenburg) of St. Paul, MN.
Grandchildren Jack, Olivia, Will Hanson, Hans Lee Burckhardt, brother Ralph "Milt" (Carolyn) Miner of CA, sister Janet (Fred) Netz of SD as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation will be held from 4 - 7 p.m. on Sunday, September 15, 2013 at Scandian Grove Lutheran Church in Norseland. Services conducted by The Rev Joyce Capp will also be held at the church on Monday, September 16, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. The church is located at 42869 County Road 52, St. Peter, MN.
Memorials may be directed to: Scandian Grove Lutheran Church Memorial Fund; National Stroke Association, 9707 E. Easter Lane, Suite B, Centennial, CO 80112, 1-800-STROKES http://www.stroke.org/; Farm Bureau Foundation, Nicollet County Farm Bureau Lokensgaard Scholarship Committee or Nicollet County Historical Society.
The family wishes to thank the many friends and family who were so supportive and visited Judy faithfully during the past five months, especially Pastor Joyce Capp. Also the ER and other doctors and staff at Rivers Edge Hospital in St. Peter, ISJ Hospital and staff in Mankato, Mayo Doctors and staff at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, staff at Benedictine Living Center St. Peter and also Mayo Hospice Mankato.
---Mankato Free Press, September 12, 2013 (Minnesota)
September 12, 2013
Former Nicollet County commissioner dies
By Mark Fischenich
mfischenich@mankatofreepress.comNORSELAND — Judy Hanson — a farmer, a mother, and a bedrock supporter of her church and rural community — managed to get more than a few tasks done before her death Tuesday at the age of 70.
The rural St. Peter resident was a writer and blogger, a quilter and dressmaker, a 16-year member of the Nicollet County Board and a lobbyist when she thought lawmakers needed some talking to, a keeper of history and a woman who liked to dance to '50s rock 'n' roll.
"She was just a woman to look up to," said Sue Schott, who said Hanson taught her "how to be a farm wife."
Schott met her own husband in college and followed him back to farming after they'd lived in New York working in corporate America. They bought a farm in Minnesota and Schott found Hanson at a Bible study group at the Scandia Grove Lutheran Church in 1974. Hanson was just five years older chronologically, but she had plenty of wisdom to offer the novice on how to keep a farmer happy.
"Always have some food on the table for one thing," Schott said. "And always have the table set so your husband thinks dinner's ready. We joked a lot."
Hanson shared her thoughts on rural life in newspaper columns and in a blog while also tackling some of the biggest challenges facing the region. She was elected to four terms on the Nicollet County Board, retiring in 2010 after 16 years.
"I admired her for her tenacity," said Bridgette Kennedy, the Nicollet County auditor and a 40-year county employee. "She was very passionate about the concerns of her constituents. But it was not just her constituents, it was concern for the entire county."
"On a personal level, she was a very kind and compassionate person as well," Kennedy said.
Even while dealing with county ditch disputes, working to persuade lawmakers to approve more funding for rural roads, digging up answers to questions from constituents, Hanson found time for canning vegetables, constructing quilts, sewing wedding dresses for daughters and helping to track the history of the county and of tiny Norseland. Schott said Hanson managed to do so much because she was able to prioritize, never wavering about what was at the top of the list.
"I think Judy had a way of picking out what was important in life," she said. "She never said a bad thing about anybody, so she never wasted time with gossip. ... The real priorities for her were Fred and her children and, then, her church."
Judy and Fred Hanson, who would have reached their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday, were active members of the Scandia Grove Lutheran Church.
"Judy was faithful in her worship, but her faith didn't end there," said Scandia Grove Pastor Joyce Tollefson Capp. "She lived her commitment to God with her family and in the community."
At church, like elsewhere, Hanson demonstrated her talent for getting things done, Capp said. For instance, Hanson believed the future viability of the small rural parish depended in part on building broader connections through technology. So she coordinated the church's web page and pushed church leaders to get involved in social media.
"She said, 'You want our church to grow, then we need to figure out Facebook.' That's what I mean about getting things done. She just kind of took that on."
And she was a natural leader and representative.
"When people came to her with a church issue or a community issue, she knew how to listen and what to do," Capp said. "People trusted her. And they trusted her with their concerns and with their joys, as well."
Hanson had a deep sense of emphathy, Schott said.
"She had a really big heart, a really big heart. You could see her dab her eyes if she heard about somebody being hurt."
But she also knew how to have fun, playing with grandkids, listening to country music and joining Schott in dragging their husbands to dances featuring '50s-era bands like the White Sidewalls Rock 'n' Roll Revue.
Then came a pair of strokes in the past five months, one that Hanson was determined to recover from and a second that was debilitating.
"It was amazing to see her lay still there these last few weeks, and I sat with her many hours," Schott said. "I realized how hard it must have been not to move, because she was always moving."
Father: George Henry Humphries Mother: Annie Adelaide Earnshaw
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! Irvin Ray Colby; Married Wanda and Hazel Winterowd who were twin sisters.
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! Hazel Clare Winterowd; twin sister of Wanda Juanita Winterowd.
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! Irvin Ray Colby; Married Wanda and Hazel Winterowd who were twin sisters.