John Albert Hansen

John Albert Hansen, 87, of Redmond, OR passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours of December 22nd, 2023. He struggled with several health issues after breaking his hip in May and was eventually moved to a memory care facility where he regularly requested to go home. He struggled with dementia and Alzheimer’s that were progressing rapidly. John was born June 26th, 1936, to John Tillinghast Hansen and Mary Rose Louise Lemke on the Peshtigo Brook Farms in Suring, WI. After graduating from Suring High School in June 1954, John enlisted in the Air Force. His basic training was at Lackland AFB in Texas. He went to radio school at Scot AFB in Bellevue, IL where he also became an instructor. He was stationed at Lajes AFB in the Azores and then transferred to Prestwick AFB in Scotland. During his off-duty time in Prestwick, John took up the hobby of rebuilding and racing motorcycles. He found a 1955 Velocette MAC 350 for cheap and loved how it handled compared to the “other” bikes of the 􀆟me. He loved to flat-track race on the beach in Prestwick. One day, after finishing a race, a fellow airman introduced John to a girl named Margaret (Rita) Dempster. John met Rita again at a dance where she was stood up by her date and he quickly proceeded to ask her to dance. Later that night, he gave her a ride home on his Velocette, followed closely behind by one of her brothers keeping a watchful eye over her. John and Rita were married on March 2nd, 1957, in Newton Church in Ayr, Scotland with the recep􀆟on and photos taken at the Brig o’ Doon in Alloway, Ayrshire. The Brig o’Doon would later become a symbol of John’s passion for many things, including his marriage to Rita. That following fall, John applied to the University of Minnesota and was granted admission into the Electrical Engineering program in December 1957; at the same time, they welcomed their first child, Rita Louise. He then immediately applied for an early discharge from the Air Force, which was granted due to his university admission. John and Rita then moved to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN to begin classes in the Spring of 1958. John graduated with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1963 and accepted an offer to work for Proctor & Gamble as the manager of the electrical and instrument department at Charmin Paper in Green Bay, WI. Over the next 15 years, John worked his way up through management at various paper mills and then eventually made a switch to sales, working with fiberboard plants. The family lived in places like Palatka, FL; Towanda, PA; Ukiah, CA; and Washougal, WA. In 1976, his family moved to Issaquah, WA where John took the job as the general manager of the board line division at Washington Iron Works. After several years, he would then go on to start his own company called Ligna Technology, Inc. combining his passion for engineering with the knowledge and business relationships he had developed in the fiberboard industry. His business was involved in several projects planning and building fiberboard plants over the next decade. His last business enterprise was involved with the internet where he created a company called brigadoon.com that partnered consumer internet services with local schools. His retirement consisted of always thinking about business opportunities in energy and he stayed involved as a consultant in wind farm energy where he partnered with investors and developers to build out a wind farm in North Dakota. Anyone who knew John knew that his passion was anything related to business, but in his earlier active years, he also loved to camp, hunt, fish, downhill ski and took up flying and obtained his private pilot’s license. He also pursued genealogy over the years and loved to share the results with his family. John is survived by his four children and their families: Rita Louise Hansen (Milo Long), John James (Hollie Smith), David Alan (Liana Herrmann), and Michelle Anne Hansen. His eight grandchildren: Moriel Arango (Carla Perez), Heather Mathews (Tom), Heidi Werry (Branden), John Thomas Hansen, Hannah Tilley (Alex), Tavish Hansen, Kelsey Hansen, and Zachary Superfisky. He also has eight great-grandchildren: Nicolás Arango; Preston, Wesley, Tobin, and Mason Mathews; Tanner and Isabelle Werry; and Forest Tilley. No services will be held at this time and the family requests donations be made to St. Charles Hospice (htps://founda􀆟on.stcharleshealthcare.org/).

John Albert Hansen

June 26, 1936 - December 22, 2023