Howard E. Hanson, 94, Topeka, passed away Monday, July 21, 2003, at Westwood Manor in Topeka.
He was born July 9, 1909, the son of Joseph and Ada May Racknor Hanson. He graduated from Washburn High School in 1927. He completed the Farmers Short Course at Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science from 1931to 1933.
He was a farmer in Shawnee County. He raised Hereford cattle. He was also a licensed fur dealer for 32 years.
He was a member of Wanamaker 4-H Club with crop and livestock projects. Later he was crop leader with the Dover 4-H Club. He had worked with Kansas State University to produce hybrid seed corn. He sold certified seed for 25 years.
He was a member of the Oak Grange at Mission Center and the Shawnee County Farm Bureau. He had been active with the Shawnee County Agricultural Extension Office in Topeka. He served on the Dover Grade School Board and had attended the Dover Federated Church since 1989, and had been a member of Williams Chapel Wesleyan Church, west of Dover.
He married Julia Atwood on May 12, 1946, near Auburn. She preceded him in death on Oct. 5, 1995.
Survivors include two daughters, Zelma Gould, Topeka, and Judy Spriggs, Houston; a son Paul Hanson, Olathe; two sisters, Ruth Forbes, Topeka, and Mildred Smith, Rochester N.Y.; his brother, Alfred Hanson, Lancaster, Calif.; and four grandchildren, Christy, Jason, Tanya Spriggs, all in Texas, and Kenny Pingleton, Lawrence.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, July 26, at the Dover Federated Church in Dover. Interment will be in Dover Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday at the church in Dover. He will lie in state from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Friday at Davidson Funeral Home in Topeka .
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dover Federated Church, sent in care of the funeral home.
Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 24, 2003
