William Albert Hansen

WILLIAM ALBERT HANSEN, son of EDNA FRANCES RANDALL and HERBERT BERNARD HANSEN, was born March 6, 1926 in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon,¹¹³⁶² and died January 7, 2000.¹¹³⁶²

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News Tribune, January 12, 2000¹¹³⁶²

William Albert Hansen

William Albert Hansen, benevolent, revered and beloved, departed after a heroic three-month battle with infection, 7 Jan. 2000.

Born in Portland, OR of Herbert B. and Edna F. Hansen, 6 March 1926, he grew up in Salem, moving to Los Angeles to complete high school and meet his wife, Ellen Mae Legg Hansen. They married 17 March 1946 in Seattle. Will graduated from Seattle Pacific University, 1956 with a Phi Beta Kappa Key, Alpha Kappa Sigma, and Who's Who in America honors. He received his M.A. from Univ. of Washington, 1962, and Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Public Address, Univ. of Oregon, 1971. He held Elder's Orders in the Free Methodist Church and began teaching at Seattle Pacific University in 1958, retiring as Dean of the School of Humanities in 1988. He loved coaching the debate squad and teaching his speech and rhetoric classes, especially British Oratory, and the Friday tea parties in his home. Will and Ellen moved to Lincoln City, OR after retirement, where Will enjoyed church, fishing, golfing, reading, writing articles for the News Guard, his family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his brother, John Randall, and his parents. Remaining to mourn and hold a wealth of memories are his wife Ellen; children Katherine Petersen (Justin) of Arlington, WA, Richard of Santa Barbara, CA, Mary Nystrom (Karl) of Stanwood, WA, Gregory (Lois) of Tacoma, WA; siblings Louise Archer (Jerry), Herbert Hansen (Joybelle), both of Warm Beach, WA, and Bernard Hansen (Ruth) of Seattle, WA; 11 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 23rd and Hoyt in Everett, WA, Saturday, 15 January at 11 a.m.; and at St. James Episcopal Church in Lincoln City, OR, 17 January at 11 a.m. Memorials are suggested to Seattle Pacific University Scholarship Fund. Private burial at G.A.R. Cemetery, Snohomish, WA.