Peter Thomas Hanson
December 6, 1945 - March 1, 2007
First of all, I want to thank everyone who has shown their love and support for me and my family over the past twenty-four hours. Without all of you, I don't know how I would've dealt with the loss of my father. The notice of this came as a shock to most of our family. This has been a difficult deal to handle, and I know it will not get easier in the coming days. I ask for your thoughts and prayers for my family, especially my mother, during these trying moments. Again, I thank all of you for what you all have done so far. Friends are a safety net when the world falls out from under you, and I realize that more than ever right now. I appreciate and love all of you.
My father was born in Bottineau in 1945. He grew up on our family farm ten miles north of town near Lake Metigoshe. As a child, he helped his three brothers and one sister along with his father and mother who ran the family farm. He was also active in sports throughout his time in high school. Upon graduation, he attended college at the Bottineau Forestry.
Shortly after finishing school, he enlisted in the US Navy. He married my mother in Hawaii in 1969 whille stationed at Pearl Harbor. He served aboard several boats as a submarine reactor operator.
Later on in life, he and my mom were blessed with raising my sister, Elizabeth. I was adopted at Pearl Harbor in 1977, and Pete and Debby Hanson became the only parents I would ever know, but the only ones I would need to call mom and dad. Shortly after all of that happened, dad got out of the Navy and we moved back to Bottineau where dad began working the farm again. After a few years of that, we made the move to Langdon where mom and dad ran a family diner. After an electrical fire destroyed that business four years later, we moved to Minot, where mom and dad would call home for good.
Dad joined the Army National Guard, and just a little bit after moving to Minot, be was deployed with the 132nd Quartermasters. He spent over a year in theatre, stationed in Saudi Arabia. Upon return, he worked several jobs before settling on being a part of the facility staff at the Minot AFRC. This is the job that he would stick with for the rest of his time.
Pete Hanson has been a hero to me for his ability to always stay calm and focused no matter what the situation was. He was clear-minded, and he cared very much about all of us whether he showed it or not. He taught me a lot both as a child and as a grown-up. He loved music, even though he couldn't sing in pitch well, and he always supported me in my musical endeavors. He taught me to take things day by day, and take the good with the bad. He taught me that life wasn't always fair, but it would always work out in the end. He was the greatest man I could ever wish for in a father, and I miss him already. It will be difficult to deal with the loss, and he will be missed greatly by his family and friends. But, he would want me to keep moving on. I will do that with his memories firmly planted in my mind and heart.
And, again, thank you to all of you for everything you have done for me and my family during this difficult time.
The funeral will take place at Vincent United Methodist Church in Minot, North Dakota on Tuesday, March 6th at 11:00am. Flowers can be sent to the Thomas Family Funeral Home.