Lisa Kay Hanson

Honored by:Gary Hanson
Brick location:G:16  map

I am proud to honor my wife LISA KAY HANSON through this Plaza of Heroines. Lisa came into my life for only a brief moment but it was a precious time for which my life will be forever changed. Lisa taught me the wonders of love. How valuable our (limited) time on earth is. The importance of using whatever talents we have been given to try and make our world (at home or globally) a bit better. Her positive outlook her attention to details her laughter her artistic talents her love of children her devotion to family are all etched permanently in my mind. A poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of Lisa's favorites. She hung it on her wall for daily inspiration but having known Lisa I believe it was already instinctively a part of her: "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." Lisa died of leukemia in 1990 just nine months after we were married and five years after the disease invaded her body. I had only known her three years but it was as if we had grown up together. Hopefully that as the years go by future readers of this tribute will no longer have to deal with leukemia in their world. I hope that medical research and bone marrow donor programs will eradicate this disease. The world would indeed be the better. Lisa changed me. I love her for that. I thank God for Lisa and for the wonderful time that we were able to share "laughing often and much" . . .

Biographical Data: Birth: February 26, 1958 Parents: Ronald & Wilma Boltz Hometown: Earlville IL Baptism: April 13 1958 (Lutheran) High School: Earlville (1976) College: Illinois State University (1980) Degree: B.S. Art Occupation: Graphics Designer Wedding: June 17 1989 (Gary H. Hanson Death: March 17 1990

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