Alfred Christian "Swede" Hansen

Alfred Christian “Swede” Hansen went to be with the Lord on February 22, 2017 at River Terrace Retirement Community. He was born April 4, 1916 in Lake Mills, Wisconsin. His nickname, Swede, is actually a misnomer. It seems his kindergarten friends thought he was speaking Swedish so dubbed him “Swede”, but he was actually talking in Danish. His parents moved to the United States in 1912 from Denmark. He was the son of Otto and Anna Hansen. He graduated from Lake Mills High School in 1934. After high school he worked for 95 cent an hour with no benefits in a factory that produced dairy equipment. He also drove an 18 wheeler, delivering furniture. He was in North Dakota on a job when Pearl Harbor was bombed. He drove his truck to Wisconsin, turned his truck in and enlisted in the Army Air Corp. in December 1941. He was sent to Biloxi, Mississippi and trained at the Aviation Mechanics School. From there he was sent to Middle River, Maryland to work in the Glenn L. Martin B-26 factory. Then he was sent back to MacDill Base in Tampa, Florida as a crew chief to organize the 323 Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. The group was then sent to Fort Wayne where their B-26 plane would be picked up to fly to England. While in Fort Wayne he attended a USO show where he met Nila Greek, who was volunteering. They agreed to write each other and did for two and a half years. When the war ended he was discharged in November 1945. He returned back to Fort Wayne and he and Nila were married January 1, 1946.They were happily married for 67 years. She passed away in 2013. After the war Swede worked for two divisions of Martin Marietta: first as a plant supervisor for Lewistown Pipe Company in Fort Wayne. He later worked as a branch manager for Madison Silo Company in Markle. Swede and Nila bought a farm south of Zanesville. They operated a beef farm for 27 years. He remodeled the old farm house and then built a new house next to it. His parents moved from Wisconsin and lived in the remodeled house and later Nila’s mother moved in with them. They hosted two foreign exchange students from Holland and one from Denmark. In 1979 after their parents had passed away, Swede retired and they hit the road joining an RV Club. During their journey in their RV they visited all lower 48 state and most of Canada. They also took trips to Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2009 they moved to River Terrace Estates in Bluffton to enjoy their later years. They were faithful members for over 50 years at the Trier Ridge Community Church of God on Hessen Cassel Road, Fort Wayne. Swede was also a member of the Shriner Legion of Honor in Fort Wayne. Surviving family includes his sister, Florence Hoskins; nephews, Bob (Sally) Hoskins and Greg (Becky) Hoskins, both of California, and Tom Hoskins of Oregon; and several grand nieces and nephews. Funeral service will be Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 2:00 PM at Trier Ridge Community Church of God, 7501 Hessen Cassel Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46816 with visitation beginning at 11:00 AM. Burial will be in Prairie Grove Cemetery. Memorials may be given to the church.