Lasting Memories

Carl Woodrow "Woody" Hansen
Sept. 19, 1918-July 20, 2006
Palo Alto, California

Carl Woodrow "Woody" Hansen, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died July 20, 2006. He was 87.

He was born Sept. 19, 1918, in Livermore, Iowa, to Chris and Anna Hansen of Fredrikstad, Norway. He grew up in the towns of Bode and Laurens of Iowa, graduating from Laurens High School in 1936. From there he moved with his family to Rock Island, Ill., and attended Augustana College while working at J.I. Case as a welder and B-26 wing assembler. On Dec. 13, 1941, he married Maxine L. McFall, with whom had two children, Carl and Steve.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 as a radio and radar instructor. He then attended the State University of Iowa, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with an electrical engineering degree. He spent the first half of a 50-year-long engineering career designing and managing the design of radiology equipment and the second half consulting with hospitals and clinics through the United States to plan and equip radiology departments.

During this time his career took him and his family to the Milwaukee, Boston and Cleveland areas before moving to Palo Alto in 1969, where he lived the remainder of this life. He excelled both in technical skills and in relationships with people both professionally and personally, loved ones recall. He was a loving husband and father, a delightful friend and a hard worker who expressed his faith best in his service to others.

He retired at 77 and spent time traveling before a variety of serious physical problems prevented him from continuing. He struggled with these illnesses for a number of years before succumbing to a stroke. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Arthur; his sister Marie; and two siblings who died in infancy. He is survived by his wife, Maxine of Palo Alto; his sons, Carl of Fertile, Minn., and Steve of Palo Alto; his brother, Richard of Burnsville, Minn.; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.