Janice Cecilia Hansen

1931-2024

Janice Hansen, the artistic and loving mother of six, gently passed away at Heritage Crossing Hospice in Clovis, CA on November 4, with family at her side. Son Robert noted that she was just over two miles from her birthplace, the Clovis Sanitarium that once stood on Pollasky Ave. in Clovis.

Janice was born to Jane (Douglas) Baker and John Baker in Clovis, CA, March 7, 1931. She had an older brother, Douglas. When their father left them to work in Saudi Arabia for Standard Oil, they moved to Pasadena to live with friends during the early depression years. In 1936 they moved to Fresno to live with their maternal grandparents. Janice (Jan) proudly remembered turning pages of sheet music for Jane’s piano and organ recitals. Jan said that she inherited her artistic skills from her mother, Jane Keene, and her great grandmother.

By the time she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1948, she had painted her first portrait in oils, and was artist for her class annual The Nautilus. She began dating Robert “Bob” Hansen when they were students at Fresno State College (now the campus of Fresno City College) in 1948, and married June 22, 1951 in Pensacola, FL after Bob received his Navy “wings.” The bride and groom passed beneath the traditional arch of swords raised by Naval officers in their dress whites.

During the next 20 years of his service as a Naval aviator Jan and Bob had five sons and one daughter as they were stationed in seven different locations including San Diego, San Jose and Sunnyvale CA, Texas, Hawaii, and Maryland. Eldest son, Doug, was born while Bob was serving as a carrier pilot in the Korean conflict, Keith was delivered in Beeville, TX by a doctor in cowboy boots, and Craig was born during a Hawaiian tsunami alert.

The family of eight - including children Doug, Rob, Brad, Keith, Craig, and Jennifer returned to Fresno in 1970. A five-bedroom home was purchased on Dovewood Ln. and remained the focal point of Hansen family life until 2021. Bob and his brother Chet Hansen established Bob's Village Hobby at Fig Garden Village - a Fresno institution for 20 years.

Janice was basically a self-taught artist. As a young woman she completed the popular “Famous Artists” correspondence art course. She approached the Walt Disney studios for a job but was disappointed to learn that, at that time, women were hired only to paint animation cells. Throughout her years as a busy mother and “Navy wife,” Jan was commissioned to paint many portraits in oil and acrylic. She was particularly inspired by the people and natural beauty of Hawaii. Jan also created works with beautiful glass mosaic tiles she purchased on a trip with Bob to Mexico.

On her return to Fresno Jan became wholeheartedly involved in the art scene. She experienced a personal art renaissance when she enrolled in art classes at Fresno State. She was unafraid to experiment with different media including ink washes, etched Plexiglass, stained glass, collage, Prismacolor pencil, and goldsmith works. She joined the weekly life drawing classes at the then Fresno Arts Center and produced masterfully composed, sensitive and effortlessly rendered drawings of nudes. Her subjects celebrated life’s beauty and were often inspired by nature and reflected the capabilities of an artist who truly could “see” the world.

Jan contributed to the AIDS quilt and, working with lifelong family friend, director Earlyne Kidder, Jan created sets for Fresno Opera Association productions including Marriage of Figaro and Fiddler on the Roof. She generously donated her work to fundraisers for the Fresno Art Museum.

Jan’s proudest artistic career accomplishment came in 1993 with a commission from the Fresno Art Museum to create a 128 foot-long mural on paper. The theme was the San Joaquin River. Jan and her three artist sons, Doug, Keith and Craig, worked together for over three years, painting and drawing the hundreds of images that comprise The San Joaquin River: Gravity and Light. The mural, which wound through three galleries of the Fresno Art Museum, was exhibited in March 1997.

This project drew on the talents of each family member. Beginning with the artists, Craig is an exhibit designer for the Oakland Museum of California. Previously, he did exhibit work for the Lawrence Hall of Science on the UC Berkeley campus. Notably, Craig envisioned the format and concept of the mural. Keith is a respected birder and bird artist - he has illustrated 14 books including, most recently, his epic Hansen’s Field Guide to the Birds of the Sierra Nevada. Doug was a staff artist for The Fresno Bee for over 20 years and later a professor of illustration at California State University, Fresno. Bee readers will remember his Fresno Sketchbook series. Doug wrote and illustrated three California-themed children’s books.

In addition to the collaboration of Jan with the three artist brothers, Jan recognized that the talents of the entire family would be useful. Husband, Bob, built two work tables for the artists with rollers at each end so the paper could be scrolled across the table surface. Rob, naturalist and biology professor at Visalia’s College of the Sequoias was the resource for all flora and fauna info. Brad, who had a lifelong career as an engineer at local television station KGPE Channel 47, created a video of the artists at work over three years. Jennifer has a career teaching deaf and hard-of-hearing students. She interpreted a presentation about the mural in American Sign Language. This mural project was a highlight in Janice's life. She recognized it as a rare experience for a mother to share with her six children, and each of the children recognize how precious those years of working closely together were.

In 2004 the mural was installed permanently in the Woodward Park Regional Library, designed by Art Dyson. In 2000 the family was honored with a Horizon Award by the directors of the Fresno Arts Council for “contributions to the community through the arts.”

Beyond the mural, Jan left a note that her proudest family moments were having six beautiful, healthy babies. She wrote that she is proud that each adult child has discovered and developed their individual gifts and are expressing themselves through their abilities. Jan observed that artistic talents are flourishing in the next generations too - the grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

There was no room for ugliness in Jan’s world. Visually jarring bits of mundane modern life weren’t allowed to intrude; baskets covered digital clocks and bamboo screens shrouded garbage cans. Ginkgo leaves, dragonflies, rich oriental carpets and muted tones of gray-green were her favorite decor. She habitually wore a beautiful jade bracelet as well a snake-shaped bracelet, a keepsake crafted from a silver dollar and handed down from her mother. Jan created an environment at home of caring, encouragement, and sensitivity to everyone’s needs.

While in college, Doug was working on a conceptual art-family portrait piece that included a surprise question “what is your favorite word?” Characteristically, Jan responded “love.”

Janice was preceded in death by her husband Robert Hansen, and brother Douglas Baker.

Jan is survived by her son Douglas Hansen, daughter-in-law Susan Hansen, grandson Nathaniel Hansen, (his wife, Melody Drummond Hansen), grandson Wyeth Hansen, (his wife Karen Hansen) and great-granddaughters, Georgia Hansen and Hazel Hansen; son Robert Hansen, daughter-in-law Debra Hansen, granddaughter Erica McCormack, (her husband, John McCormack), great-granddaughter Imogen McCormack and great grandson Leo McCormack, granddaughter Natalie Hansen; son Bradford Hansen, daughter-in-law Donna Rosetta-Hansen, grandson Gregory Hansen, granddaughter Emily Hansen, great-grandson Jonathan Newman and great-granddaughter Coraline Hansen; son Keith Hansen, and daughter-in-law Patricia Briceño; son Craig Hansen and daughter-in-law Jenny Ruhl, grandson Calder Ruhl Hansen; daughter Jennifer Ickes and son-in-law Rob Ickes, granddaughter Janelle Ickes and grandson Neal Ickes.

A memorial service and celebration of Jan’s life is planned for the early months of 2025. The date for a future service will be available under Janice’s obituary on the Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home website.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations to honor her life be sent in memory of Janice Hansen to

The Fresno Art Museum, 2233 N. First St. Fresno, CA 93703

or

Tree Fresno - expanding the urban tree canopy.

Call CEO Mona at 559-221-5556 or Email [email protected]