This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: WHL44 Surnames: HANSEN, REMINGTON Classification: obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.michigan.counties.kalamazoo/22888/mb.ashx Message Board Post: HANSEN, Pat Our beloved husband, son, brother and friend, Melvin F. "Pat" Hansen, Jr., left us on May 11, 2008 while vacationing with his Kate and her parents in Avignon, France. It was unexpected and all too quick and then he was gone from us forever. Yet he left us with so many rich and beautiful memories that our hearts will surely be healed in time by his legacy of love and care. Pat was attentive to the needs of others in a way that is seldom seen in our modern world. He was open hearted to everyone who knew him. He loved to work, whether it was at his store, Hansen Music, or in his garden. He loved music with all his heart and was excited to be able to help so many people discover their own music. His pixie-like personality meant fun for his friends and family. We might wake up to pennies in our shoes or find our car keys hanging from a hook in the ceiling. He loved nature and spent much of his life out of doors in the mountains hiking, fishing, and canoeing. He dearly loved to sp! end time at the Hansen family cabin at Red Lodge. His Aunt Ruth and Uncle John had a cabin within walking distance and the two families spent years of happy days together enjoying the mountains and sharing holidays. Pat loved and respected wildlife. The sounds of the birds were especially magic to him and he and Kate walked at Riverfront Park every morning to listen to their songs. The passing of the seasons were measured for Pat by nature: The first song of the year of the meadowlark, the first house wrens to nest, the return of the mountain bluebirds, the first appearance of the pelicans on the river, the first fawns to be seen at home, the first tomatoes and wild plums to harvest and the busy Nuthatches and Chickadees at his feeders in winter. The rhythm of the earth was the backdrop for his creation of music, his creation of beauty and a way for him to live and express his loving nature. Melvin F. Hansen, Jr. was born on November 12, 1945 to Melvin Feurig and Daphne Rem! ington Hansen, Sr. at the Murray Hospital in Butte, Montana. His fathe r was stationed at that time in Butte at the Army Induction Center. As a young child, Pat liked to wear his father's Army hat. When his father was released from service in 1946, the family moved to Billings. While still a toddler, Melvin , Jr. was dubbed "Pat" by his grandfather who said that Pat looked more like a prizefighter than a "Melly" and needed a nickname to suit his size and frisky nature. His love of nature was passed on to him by his parents. Early on, his father made a backpack from an army knapsack and carried his baby, Pat, on his back when he went fishing. At the age of three, when his parents took him to visit friends at a cabin on the Boulder River, Pat played with a pet deer named Bucky. He always loved to go hunting and golfing with his father and later on he taught his younger brothers, Mike and Mark, to fish. Pat attended school at Washington, Lewis and Clark, and West High in Billings. In high school he was president of the Honor Society. Music was alw! ays a part of his life. He took piano lessons for a number of years and was trumpet soloist in the high school band. He received the band's Sousa Award upon graduation and he received a scholarship to attend Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended Coe College for two years and then entered the Army. He served in the Army from 1969-1970 specializing in electrical maintenance. While in the Army he served one year in Vietnam that included being stationed in unsecured areas. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Coe College with a major in history and minor in English after completing his Army service. After graduation, he returned to Billings to help his father out at the family music store started by his father, Mel, and his uncle, John Billings, in 1947. His father was so impressed with Pat's handling of the store that he suggested that he retire and that Pat buy the store. Pat took over the business in 1978, expanding the store to double its size, and so began ! his love affair with his business and with the community. He moved the store to Market Square and from there to the current location at 1819 Grand Avenue. He became active in Kiwanis for a number of years, and was Kiwanis Key Club advisor for Billings high school members. During the early years of the store he bought a home on 10 acres of wooded land in Blue Creek and he loved his home dearly. He and his neighbors helped to set up a 110 acre preserve next to their acreages to make sure that wildlife would always have room to live. It was during this same time that Pat learned to play the guitar and he spent hours upon joyous hours throughout the rest of his life playing music with his friends and with his wife, Kate. Pat always worked as if he were perpetual motion personified. Others would sit and watch him in exhaustion and amazement while he ran around getting things done. Everything he did he did with energy and enthusiasm, with attention to detail and with an eye as to how it would affect others. What most would call work, he called fun, ! be it stacking wood, cleaning carpets, helping customers, harvesting garlic or cooking his favorite Hot Root Soup. He was a bright and shining light that his family and friends have lost all too soon. There will never be another like him and we are blessed to have shared his life, even for a little while. Pat is survived by his wife, Kate; his mother, Daphne Remington Hansen, brother Dr. Mike Hansen and his wife Krystel, all of Billings, Montana; and brother Mark Hansen, his wife Susan, nephew Alex Hansen and niece, Natalie Hansen of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was preceded in death by his father, Melvin F. Hansen, Sr. in 2004. A memorial service will be held at Smith Funeral Home, Downtown at 2:00 PM, June 12, 2008 with a reception and sharing of music and stories celebrating Pat's life to follow at 4:00 PM at the Shrine Auditorium. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, friends and family donate to a Billings area high school band program of their choice or to the music dep! artment of MSU-Billings or Rocky Mountain College in his name. Pat, yo u have blessed everyone whose life you touched. May your way be clear, dearest one, and may your heart be free in a better place. We will love you always. Published in the Kalamazoo Gazette on 6/10/2008. (Posted by a VOLUNTEER-NO family connection) Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.