August Hansen

August Johann Hansen was born June 27, 1915, the son of Martin and Caroline Ploog Hansen. He died Saturday, November 21, 2009, at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, at the age of ninety-four.
August was born on a farm in Goodrich Township, Crawford County, Iowa. He was baptized in Christ on August 5, 1915, and confirmed on April 13, 1930. He received his education in rural schools in Goodrich and Hanover Townships. He lived on the home place south of Schleswig for 26 years until the time when he was drafted into the Army on October 14, 1941. He served in the Medical Corps, having been stationed in Rockford, Illinois. For 38 months he was at Las Vegas, Nevada, then onto Georgia, Louisiana, and then Riverside, California. He was sent overseas to serve in India. He was on the boat going to India on Christmas Day in 1944 and was on the boat again on Christmas Day in 1945 when coming home. On February 6, 1946, he received an Honorable Discharge, after which he returned to live with his parents on an acreage 5 1/2 miles south of Schleswig. On March 1, 1947, he began farming on a farm five miles south of Schleswig, a farm which his father purchased from Fred Storm in 1942.
On June 27, 1948, he was united in marriage to Marie Hansen, at her mothers home, by Rev. C.W. Schmidt. The couple made their home on the farm and were blessed with the birth of six children. In 2008 they were blessed to be able to celebrate their 60th anniversary. August and Marie moved into the Reed House in Denison in October of 2008. He lived out the rest of his life at the Reed House until he fell and broke his left hip and left arm and was taken to Creighton Medical Center on Tuesday for surgery, where he died four days later.
He was a loving and caring husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was a member at Zion Lutheran Church in Denison. His lifelong wish was to remain active in farming until he died, and he died a successful farmer, getting the best crop of corn and beans and the nicest-looking cattle he ever had.
August was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Marie in June of this year; his son, Charles Hansen in 2003; one son-in-law, Terry Klegin; one brother, Harry, and two sisters, Margaret and Edna, all three in infancy. Survivors include three sons: Harry Hansen and his wife, Elizabeth of Prescott, Arizona; Martin Hansen and his wife, Penni of Arion, Iowa; and John Hansen and Sharon Brown of Schleswig; two daughters: Joyce Hansen and her husband, Robert Nordby of Omaha; and Myrna Klegin of Coon Rapids, Minnesota; 14 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; one brother, John Hansen and his wife, Doris of Denison; other relatives and friends.