Eva M. Hansen

Eva MayBelle Hansen

passed away at the grand

age of 105 on July 4, 2017,

at Trinity Hospital in

Minot after suffering a

stroke on July 1.

She was born on the

family farm in Deering,

ND, on Oct. 25, 1911, to

E.L. (Pat) and Florence

(Hall) Hance. The oldest

of nine children, she

worked hard on the fami-

ly farm taking care of her

siblings and doing the

chores. After graduating

from Deering High School

in 1931, Eva attended

Minot State Teachers Col-

lege and received her

teacher’s certificate. She

taught for several years in

rural schools around

North Dakota, and always

said it was such a happy

feeling earning her own

money by doing some-

thing she loved.

As a child her family at-

tended a country church,

the Deering Free Metho-

dist Church. The church

was later moved into

town and became the

Deering Lutheran Church,

where she attended and

her children were all con-

firmed.

Eva married Lester

Detlef Hansen on October

15, 1942, in Mandan, ND.

After their marriage, they

purchased a farmstead

north of Deering where

they farmed and raised

chickens, hogs, and

polled Hereford cattle.

She raised four children

as a fulltime wife, mother

and homemaker. She sold

eggs to the local store and

to the neighbors, raised a

garden, canned veget-

ables, and helped on the

farm, including painting

the barn and other build-

ings. An active gardener

until the age of 100, she

once raised a

record-breaking 32-pound

cabbage.

When Lester’s health

deteriorated, Eva was

determined to take care of

him at his home, which

she did until his passing

in 2000. She continued

living on the farm until

2013 when she fell and

broke her hip. After a

short stay at Manor Care

for therapy, she moved to

Brookdale Assisted Living

in Minot where she en-

joyed activities like Bingo,

music, and visiting with

residents and staff. She

was named the Resident

of the Month in February

2014.

Throughout her life,

Eva enjoyed her flower

gardens, watching birds

with Lester, reading

books, making quilts for

the family, writing in her

diary, and scrapbooking.

She also enjoyed her

years of membership in

the Grilley Township

Homemaker’s Club and

Deering Senior Citizens.

She liked to travel to see

family and new places,

with memorable trips to

South Dakota, Ohio, Min-

nesota, Arizona, Colorado,

Massachusetts, Nebraska,

Iowa, Las Vegas, Washing-ton, D.C. and New York.

She was an avid reader

and had a great interest in

people and history. She

stayed current on events

by reading the newspaper

every day, and had her

children read it to her

when she was no longer

able to see. An amazing

storyteller to her last days,

she loved to tell tales

about her life’s adventures

to her friends and family.

Surviving family in-

cludes: Children, Florence

Hillman, Muriel (Greg)

Stach, Carolyn Raymond

and William (Marla) Han-

sen; grandchildren, Alisha

(Christopher) Lorang, Ni-

cholas (Ayoku) Stach, An-

thony Stach, Michael

(Marie) Hillman, Jennifer

(Steve) Swangler, Shane

Hansen, Dustin (Kari Lar-

son) Hansen and Sara

(Darren) Lone Fight;

great-grandchildren, Alex-

andria, Sydney, and

Mathias Lorang, Anju Eva

and Louie Lester Stach,

Avery and Brynna Stach,

Joseph and Stephen Hill-

man and Oskar and Olive

Hansen; siblings, Wilford

Hance, Faye Zurcher and

Glenn (Eileen) Hance; and

her sister-in-law, Clarice

Hance.

Eva was preceded in

death by: her parents;

husband, Lester;

grandchildren, Chadwick

Raymond and Nathaniel

and Garrett Lorang; sis-

ters, Edna, Geneva and

Dorothy; and her brothers,

Robert and Lynn.

Funeral: Saturday, July

8, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at

Bethany Lutheran

Church, Minot, ND.

Interment: Sunset

Memorial Gardens, Minot,

ND.

Visitation: An hour pri-

or to the service at the

church.

Those wishing to sign

the online register and

share memories may ac-

cess the online obituaries

section at

(www.thompson

larson.com).