Jerome L. “Jerry” Hanson

Jerome Lewis Hanson slipped away peacefully at home in Lawrence, on December 5, 2023, after extended decline in health.  He was born April 7, 1941, in Niagara Falls, NY, the youngest of three children of Helen Anna (Johnson) and Harold Perry Hanson.  He grew up in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, where he participated all four of his high school years in the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Program.  He studied radio and TV repair at DeVry Institute of Technology in Toronto, Ontario.  At age 21, he joined the U.S. Air Force; he served four years with Strategic Air Command.  While stationed at Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, KS, he met Nancy K. Schweitzer.  They married on September 13, 1965.  Jerome was honorably discharged from the Air Force in November, and the couple moved to Toronto, Ontario.  Jerome was employed for two years by Normalair Canada; then two years for an aviation-related U.S. company on Long Island, NY.  In 1969, the couple returned to Kansas.  Jerome was hired in 1970 as Director of Labs with the University of Kansas Aerospace Engineering Department, a position he fulfilled for 36 years, retiring in 2006.  Jerome joined the Kansas Army National Guard, 35^th Infantry Division, Lawrence, in 1976; served 16 years; was selected Outstanding Kansas Army Guardsman of the Year in 1979; and retired as First Sergeant in 1992.  Meanwhile, he volunteered with the Civil Air Patrol for 50 years, including serving five years as Commander of the Kansas Wing, achieving the rank of Colonel, and was an educator with the Kansas Commission on Aerospace Education.  After retirement, Jerome became an active Lifetime Member of the American Legion, serving with the Honor Guard of Lawrence’s Dorsey-Liberty Post 14, and a term as Post Commander.  Jerome was also honored to participate as an associate member of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lawrence Lodge #2. 

Jerome loved to travel; he and Nancy enjoyed annual road trips with their daughters to Ontario to visit family and friends, and, after retirement, trips to Hawaii, England, Scotland, and France.  In June 2023 he enjoyed the privilege of a Veterans Honor Flight to Washington, DC, sponsored by the Lyndon, KS, High School community.  Jerome’s lifelong interests also included airplanes; educating young people; military, aviation, and world history; socializing; sharing his stories; and defending the U.S.A.  In recent years he enjoyed spending time with the Sunday school children at Trinity Episcopal Church; constructing scenery for his HO-gauge model trains; and promoting patriotism by handing out small American flags wherever he went.

Jerome was preceded in death by his parents; his elder brother Warren; and his nephew Mark Hanson.  He is survived by his wife Nancy K., Lawrence; his daughters and their husbands:  Laura and Gareth Skarka, Lawrence; and Celeste and Matthew Hanson-Weller, Tucson, AZ; his sister Barbara Bartlett, Orillia, Ontario; four sisters-in-law:  Nancy A. Hanson, Burlington, Ontario; Karen Keim, Lawrence; Elaine Schweitzer, Hopkins, MN; Christine Wedeking and husband Anthony, Topeka, KS; three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, as well as five nieces and three nephews and their families in Canada and the U.S.A.

A celebration of Jerome’s life is planned for Saturday, April 6, 2024, 2:00 PM, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vermont Street, Lawrence, KS 66044, and will be live-streamed on the “Trinity Episcopal Church in Lawrence, Kansas” Facebook page.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Lawrence Visiting Nurses Association, American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post 14; or Trinity Episcopal Church, and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Funeral Home, 120 West 13^th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.