Patricia Hanson
March 21, 1930, to June 8, 2014
Now our relationship with Pat Hanson turns to one of memory. We hear her voice in our hearts, and we continue to talk with her. We remember what she taught us, and we continue to learn from her.
Pat lived—big—for 84 years. On Sunday morning, June 8, she set off from this life for the next after several weeks of mounting ailments stemming from liver failure. Pat enjoyed surges of energy before her decline and was able to connect with many she loved—in the hospital, in rehab, and at home. Her body was cremated and her ashes are now at home on Vashon Island, WA.
Pat was born in 1930 in Water Valley, KY, and grew up with her mother, Becky, and older sister, Jean. The family moved to Paducah when Pat was a child, then on to Carmel, CA, when she was a teen. After graduating Monterey High School, she settled in Manhattan Beach, CA.
People loved hearing Pat’s stories about her early years in Kentucky; her USO memories of dancing and singing at Fort Ord during the war with her lifelong friend, Dona Hasty; her starting-out years in the bar business; her life at the beach; her travels in a Volkswagen van selling self-made hats at craft shows in Santa Cruz and Southern California; and her life as health food store owner and nutrition expert.
In 2010, Pat moved to a beautiful home on Vashon Island with a view of Mt. Rainier and an overlook of Puget Sound. She lived with a cat or two, played a little piano, and thoroughly enjoyed living on this special island where she made wonderful friends who loved her dearly. Pat had her share of hard knocks, but her years on Vashon were the happiest and most fulfilling ever, and above all she learned to live in the moment and know every day as a gift.
Pat would want us to remember her as a woman with the best curly hair ever, laughing with her friends. For advice, she’d remind us to let the housekeeping wait, stick with potlucks, put some thought into your wardrobe, and don’t skimp on the potato chips when reading. She’d say to stretch out more (as in lay about, not yoga). Be sassy, be stubborn, and be saucy. Cuss when you want to. Stay hip to the best ringtones, the freshest new bands and cuties in them, and what’s going on in politics and the world around you. Most of all, keep trying to be more accepting of people, and remember to enjoy life right now as it is happening
Pat’s features and personality now reside in her daughter Kari Hanson (husband Marc Konowal), daughter Lisa Lucke (husband Bob Gurga), grandchildren Alex, Madison, and Emily, nieces Carla McCardle and Patricia Ford, and nephew Steven Cunningham. Pat’s son, Ed Grell, is deceased.
Never one for gloom, Pat’s life will be celebrated in her home on Vashon in Spring 2015 with displays of her artwork and remembrances of all things “Pat.”
Donations in Pat’s memory can be made to the Vashon Threshold Singers, a non-profit group of deeply caring island women who bring bedside singing to those who are dying or bereft, Providence Hospice of Seattle, or an animal rescue organization of your choice.
Paid Obituary.
