“I never left, I just moved downstream”

Our beloved

Gary Hansen, AKA Honey, Daddy, Dad, Papa, Pops…. and many other names and nicknames given to him over the years, passed away on August 30th, with his loving wife by his side. In his 80 years of life, he was loved and cared for by so many. He had a nickname for just about everyone. And if anyone focused too much on age, Papa had a simple answer: “Age is only an opinion.”

Gary had a love for all things nature. From his early years he loved backpacking, diving, sailing, and kayaking. He appreciated the beauty and enjoyed sharing that love with his family. He often said he “never met a lake in the high country that he didn’t like.” He always returned to the beautiful area of Twisp and Winthrop, where he was born and raised, and took family vacations to “the Valley.”

Surviving Gary is his loving wife of 58 years, Johnean, AKA Jonny (Nanny), who “had the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen.” His daughter Juli (Jujubee) and her husband Neil (Bucko); his son Eric (Boobear) and his wife Judy (Bombom); his precious grandchildren Shelyce and her husband David, Jenalee and her husband Ryan, Brandon and wife Sarah, Tausha, Dima, and Dasha. When his great-grandchildren came along, he said his kids and grandkids became “chopped liver.”

Papa also had a way of teaching us how to look at things. He used to make us say “I prefer something else,” instead of “I don’t like something.” It was a small correction, but it said a lot about him: there was usually a better way to say something, a better way to see it, and a little more kindness available if we paid attention.

He taught us that even though perfection isn’t always possible, we need to always give our best. “Measure twice, cut once.” “Attention is in the details.” Take pride in everything we do. And if we were tempted to settle for almost right, Papa had another reminder ready: “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”

Papa's favorite quote was “What Is Success?” attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“What is success?

To laugh often and much;

to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate the beauty;

to find the best in others;

to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch Or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded!”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

An ode from who he called “first wife”:

I’ll see you in the sunshine — I’ll hear your voice everywhere. I’ll constantly want to hold you, but darling, you won’t be there. I didn’t want to say goodbye to the summer of our lives — the peak of our physical vitality, passion, and active creation, when we built our careers, raised our family, and explored the world. Life felt warm, bright, and full of potential and choices.

But just as we entered the autumn of our lives, as trees shed their leaves and the bright light of summer turns to amber, it’s a time to let go of old habits, ego, or minor worries. Instead, it brings emotional stability, self-awareness, and the harvest of life’s lessons that can be embellished with love that hopes all things, bears all things, and is a perfect bond of union.

That is the part of losing Papa that hurts — the absence. But our sorrow is not without hope. At 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul wrote :“Moreover, brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who are sleeping in death, so that you may not sorrow as the rest do who have no hope.” The passage points to the resurrection hope made possible through Jesus.

Love defined by the Creator in terms of what it is and what it is not. Love such as God is — is so wonderful that it is hard to define, but as Paul wrote at 1 Corinthians 13:3: “If I give all my belongings to feed others and if I hand over my body that I may boast, but do not have love, I am not profited at all.”

So take it with LOVE and you can take it, and you will endure.