Robert L. Hansen's Obituary
Robert "L"Hansen, a long time Tacoma resident, passed away on May 30th. During his 88 years he lived many different chapters of his life and touched greatly the people he came in contact with. We will all miss his jokes, wonderful stories, and the toothpick he always seemed to have with him.
Born and raised in Tacoma,he served in the Coast Guard, worked in a gravel pit and worked for the city of Tacoma for many years as an Electrical Engineer. He was married for 46 years to Barbara Hansen and raised two sons, Duane and Paul, all in the same house.
He loved to help others, that and pineapple milkshakes, Mr. Good Bars, Black Russians, camping, and cigars, which he rarely smoked, he just liked to chew on them. He loved to play cards and his amazing but dubious, card playing luck was legendary.
He loved telling stories about wood, cutting wood, stacking wood, burning wood, telling stories about the wood. Those stories of wood could go on forever! He also made keys and listened to Roy Orbison, Out of Africa, and Bob Hope. The only thing that made all those things better was sharing it with his family and friends.
For years he was an active boater and belonged to a local boating organization, he and his wife Barbara spent many hours aboard, and had more adventures than you can count. They honeymooned aboard their boat the Ann "L" in the San Juan Islands.
Robert (Bob) was a lifelong inventor of things, some with a mild level of danger, like the saw that was so dangerous that it should not have been used by anyone. He built rooms on the house, shelves, cabinets, and some truly amazing electrical devices that to this day we are still trying to figure out. Anyone who knew him knew he could build something that would solve any problem. Just give him some tools and stand back. It was said he could fix anything given enough time, except for carburetors, which gave him nothing but grief.
Bob had many accomplishments but one of them was profound in that he found love twice. His final years, after his wife's passing, were spent in the company of a new and dear friend and companion, Edna. They would spend hours together traveling and living life as if there was no tomorrow. It was in her house that he spent his final days surrounded by family and friends. I am sure that he did not want to leave as he still had so much to do. There was always one more project to get done, one more thing to build, one more piece of wood for the pile and just doing things a little bit at a time. It was this desire that kept him young at heart.
Memorial Services will be held at the Lutheran Church of Christ the King, 1710 85th Street East, Tacoma, WA 98445, Saturday, July 11, 2015 at 12:00 PM.
Please leave condolences and memories to the tribute wall.
What’s your fondest memory of Robert?
What’s a lesson you learned from Robert?
Share a story where Robert's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Robert you’ll never forget.
How did Robert make you smile?