Harold Hanson was born on May 7th, 1944 in Minot, North Dakota. Harold had eight siblings Betty, Delores, Ralph, Ester, Glenn, Jane, Larry and Stanley from parents Hollis and Florence Hanson. Harold graduated from Minot High School. Harold started his journey in Minot, ND with his first wife Carolyn and five children Cindy, Kristi, Hali, Brian and Brad. He later remarried to Jill and had two children Chris and Ashley.
In his life he moved from North Dakota, to Oregon and moving back to North Dakota living there for 13 years raising his family then all moving to Florida where they resided for 19 years. In the last two years he spent a lot of time in Washington with his daughter Ashley, son-in-law and two grand children.
Harold started working in gold mines of South Dakota then on to construction in North Dakota where he also volunteered as a Search and Rescue but later switched to being on the road as an owner-operator semi truck driver where he drove all throughout the United States and Canada. Then finished his work life delivering fuel all over the state of Florida and retired in 2008. During his career in driving he received many awards including multiple years of Driver of the Year and consistent safety awards due to his extremely diligent work ethic.
His main interests and hobbies included, Ham radio which he loved and once spoke to one of the Russian Cosmonauts who was living in the International Space Station. He also enjoyed building radio controlled planes and boats. He could fix anything from electronics to vehicles. He had a passion for astronomy and photography. He excelled and found his true niche in woodworking where he built various pieces from wooden pens, cutting boards, gliding rocker chairs, his own children’s cradle, his grand children’s toys, crib and cabin fort, wooden kayak and many other items. He always was challenging himself on many projects and was a true craftsman to anything he touched.
Harold loved being outdoors enjoying a variety of outdoor activities. He enjoyed white water rafting and riding motorcycles through the mountains of Oregon with his wife, Jill. He went on many camping trips with his family, helping share his love for the outdoors with them. He loved fishing from deep sea to fly fishing. Enjoyed hiking with family, from hiking to dig crystals with his daughter Ashley, to hiking into dangerous ice caves. He even strapped into a snowboard at the age of 71, riding it in memory of his late son, Chris.
Harold’s sense of humor was on another level a few examples are, he would randomly yell, “hello" in a parrot voice. Once came out fists in the air in a bathrobe humming the Rocky theme song. Harold once hid in the dark part of a forest trail and pretended to be a sasquatch scaring his son and son-in-law to the point of them yelling and screaming as they ran away.
Harold was an amazingly kind hearted man. He was always able to lift peoples spirits and deeply cared for his family and friends. He was always willing to help out with any tasks from helping with cars, to driving his daughter Ashley across the country as they moved from Northern VA to Washington State.
Harold was a great man with many titles that he lived up to, from being an amazing son, a loving husband, caring father, a fun loving grandfather and a great friend to all.
Harold’s passing to eternal life is extremely tough on the hearts of his family and friends but in his lifetime he was able to fill their hearts with many fun, loving and lasting memories that will help his legacy live on.
Harold’s ashes will be spread through out the country from the mountains to the beaches and everywhere in between.
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