Robert Duane Hanson

Wasilla resident Robert Duane “Bob” Hanson, 74, died April 3, 2010, at his home on Anderson Lake after a brief battle with cancer.

Bob was born March 20, 1936, in Woodburn, Ore., to Elmer and Magna Hanson.

He graduated from Woodburn High School in 1954, where he grew up in a strong family of faith, farming and ranching. Bob forever loved the Lord and the smell of fresh alfalfa hay. After a short time as a logger, he joined the Army in 1956 and served two years in Germany. While in Germany, he developed a zest for adventure and appreciation for the splendor of the mountains. After his discharge, he returned to Oregon and met and married Janet Lyman on July 4, 1959, in LaGrande.

Bob and Jan raised hay, cattle, horses and kids for several years in Oregon before the pull of the North Country took them to British Columbia. There he started R. Hanson Contracting and spent eight years building mining roads and oil industry seismic lines. A brief return to ranching in eastern Oregon in the late 1970s preceded his move to Alaska in 1978.

Once in Alaska, Bob quickly moved back into heavy construction and spent several years building airports in remote Alaska villages. He re-started R. Hanson Contracting and was sought after for quality work in the Mat-Su Valley. He was very instrumental in the development of the Shaw’s Tri-Lakes Subdivision. He retired in 2002 and acted upon a lifelong dream of gold mining in the Yukon Territories with a close friend and his grandson.

Bob’s life centered around his family, his friends and the grandeur of the Alaska outdoors. He obtained his private pilot’s license in 1968 and aviation was a big part of his life. For the past 24 years, Bob was known by family and many friends as “camp boss” on annual fly-in moose-hunting trips into Interior Alaska.

His family said, “Dad’s reputation lives on as a man who held the love of his family above all else. He was a friend and mentor to many he touched throughout his life. His word was his honor and he will be remembered often and fondly for his strength of character and his humor.”

He is survived by his previous spouse and longtime friend Jan Andrews and her husband John; son and daughter-in-law, Rod and Margaret Hanson; daughter, Dori Johnson; grandchildren, Jessica Johnson, Kristin Hanson and Richard Hanson and great-grandson, Rick Reagan Benedict, all of the Mat-Su Valley. He is also survived by sister and brother-in-law, Helen and Gale Estergreen of Bend, Ore.; brothers and sisters-in-law, Phillip and Ruthie Hanson of Lockford, Calif., David and Lark Hanson of Millstone, Mont., and Arnie and Donna Hanson, of Lewistown, Mont.

Bob was preceded in death by his brother, Raymond Hanson of Portland Ore.; and his son, Richard Dean Hanson of Palmer.

The family held a private funeral and scattered Mr. Hanson’s ashes over Hatcher Pass on Saturday. A Celebration of Life service and potluck for friends and family was held that afternoon in Mr. Hanson’s aircraft hangar on Anderson Lake.

Arrangements were with Legacy Funeral Homes & Cremation services-Kehl’s Palmer Chapel.