George Allen Hansen

George Allen Hansen, 84, of Salt Lake City, passed peacefully from this life on August 28, 2023, after a valiant battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was surrounded in his final days by his beloved Nancy Brown, his high school sweetheart and wife of 66 years, and other loving family and friends from near and far. While devastated by his loss, his family is heartened to think of his joyous reunion with his parents and two eldest sons, among other loved ones and friends who preceded him in death.

Born on Halloween in 1938 at home on the family homestead in Palmyra, Utah, George was the fifth of seven children of Mark James and Caroline Aston Hansen. He spoke fondly of growing up on the farm and drew on that upbringing to propel him to a life that would have been hard to fathom at his humble beginning. George lived life boldly, with fearlessness and ambition engendered by the hardening realities of farm life.

He attended high school “in town” at Spanish Fork High School, where he met Nancy Brown, and before long they became inseparable. They married on June 27, 1957, and began raising a family without further ado. Three sons arrived in quick succession: Brad, Wes, and Darin. A fourth son, Shawn, was born ten years later.

George’s first job as he strove mightily to provide for his young family was on a slaughterhouse floor at a meat packing plant in Spanish Fork. It was, in a way, a natural progression from the farm to the destination of the livestock raised on the farm. His lifelong vocation revolved around nourishing people.

George climbed the ladder of the meat business. From the meat packing plant, he moved into sales, where, it turned out, his greatest talents lay. He began traveling a circuit of sales accounts around the Great Basin, which took the family to live in Elko, Nevada, for a time, much to young Nancy Brown’s chagrin, as she was left home alone with the boys without a car when George was on the road. Eventually, George rose into the management ranks at the Hormel office in Salt Lake, where he and Nancy Brown settled in the neighborhood they have lived in for over 60 years.

George’s fortunes kept rising. In the mid-1980s, he struck out on his own and established Advantage Marketing, an independent meat distributor. Over time, he grew and diversified his business interests with a trucking company, Advantage Transportation. And in the 1990s and 2000s, he expanded into nutritional supplements, founding the company Nutraceutical Solutions, whose products were sold on a global scale. The humble farm boy was blessed with ample material success, which he always shared more than generously.

George and Nancy Brown traveled the world extensively, and they had a special place in their hearts for Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai, where they visited each winter for many years, often gathering the family there with them. At home, they centered their lives on family, faith, and the church community they love. George cheerfully served in numerous callings in the Grandview First Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including as a bishopric counselor and Bishop. He quietly shared his means with anyone in need. He and Nancy Brown financially supported numerous missionaries. And in their later years, they served multiple senior couple missions and as temple workers at the Salt Lake Temple.

George is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Nancy Brown; son Darin Allen (Susie) of Alpine, Utah; son Shawn George (Michelle) of Hermosa Beach, California; daughter-in-law Nancy Ann Schultz of Meridian, Idaho; 11 grandchildren (Josh, Hailey, Ali, Chelsi, Derek, Alex, Austin, Madi, Jack, Georgia, and Lucy); 25 great grandchildren; and sisters Phyllis (Paul) and Laura (Randy). He was preceded in death by his parents Mark and Caroline; siblings Duane, Irene, Carolyn, and Janet; and sons Brad and Wes.

A viewing will be held on Saturday, September 2, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:15 a.m., and a funeral will be held on Saturday, September 2, 2023, at 11:30 a.m., at the Grandview Ward, 2930 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109. Interment will be conducted at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary.