Obituary of Anne Dorothy Hanson

HANSON, Anne

Anne Hanson (nee Catonio) died in her 98th year with her children and grandchildren at her bedside. Our mother was a force to reckon with – active in her community of Regina; committed to her friends and neighbours; thoughtful and caring to all those whose lives she touched. Anne was born in Blairmore, Alberta, October 3, 1920 to an Italian immigrant family – the oldest of six. Her early years were challenging.  Her mother died when she was nine and she became surrogate to her five siblings – all but one of who has predeceased her.  She was smart and determined; courageous and ambitious.   She graduated from St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver in 1943 and started her very successful nursing career in Williams Lake where she met Ken Hanson. They married in December 1945. Thus began a true partnership of support and caring that lasted until his death from Parkinson’s in 2002. Marriage meant a move to southern Saskatchewan to the hamlet of Lajord where her resilience served her well.  She integrated into a new community and environment; raised three daughters and pursued her career as a nurse.  Nursing was a vocation for our mother.  And her devotion to her profession brought her many rewards; she was loved by those she cared for and respected by her colleagues. Our mother was skilled at so many things and had so much energy.  Her accomplishments were legion: expert in all the domestic arts, a skier and a golfer and a brilliant bridge and scrabble player.  Anne was always a force for good in her community and church and devoted to her many, many friends.  To witness her decline and loss of independence has saddened all who knew and cared for her.  To see her now at peace and blessed by the church she was devoted to brings a measure of comfort.  Please no flowers – donations can be made to Parkinson Canada. Anne is survived by her three daughters, Susan, Donna and Pat, her seven grandchildren, Andrea, Daniel, Spencer, Oliver, Thomas, Oskar and Bianca and two great grandchildren, Mateo and Pablo. We will celebrate our mother’s life with a Catholic Mass at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 7, 2018 at Christ the King Church, 3239 Garnet St., Regina, SK.