Kirk Hanson
WHS Class of 1956 graduate was a man of many talents
THE VILLAGES, Florida — Kirk L Hanson, age 85, of The Villages, FL and formerly a longtime resident of Wakefield and North Reading, died at home, surrounded by his family, after bravely facing the scourge of pancreatic cancer.
Born in Melrose during the 1938 Great New England Hurricane, he was the son of Florence McMillan and Charles Gordon “Rea” Hanson (both deceased).
Kirk spent his childhood years and attended school in Wakefield, graduated with the 1956 class of Wakefield High School, and subsequently attended the University of New Hampshire and University of Akron. It was in Akron, Ohio where he met the love-of-his-life and wife of 63 years, Mary Ann Hanson.
Employed for several years at General Tire in Akron as a sales representative, he and Mary Ann brought three children into the world. In December 1966 his young family moved back to Wakefield, where he worked with his father at Hanson Box & Lumber Co. In 1969, Kirk and Mary Ann added a fourth child to their family, all of whom lived in a beloved neighborhood with lifelong friends on Elm Crest Road.
After the children graduated from Wakefield High School and went off to college, Kirk and Mary Ann moved to Thomson Country Club in North Reading, where they enjoyed their love of golf and, as was their style, made many more lifelong friends.
Finally ready to shed the cold winters of New England, they moved to The Villages, FL in 2006, where Kirk spent the next 17 years with Mary Ann, visited by family and friends countless times.
Kirk was multi-talented and had a wide range of interests. In addition to golf, he played many recreational sports including tennis and skiing. The family spent many happy years in Vermont, where Kirk was a member of the National Ski Patrol. He enjoyed watching professional sports on TV and rooted on his Boston teams. An accomplished trumpet player and pianist, he was the organist at the Wakefield Elks for many years. He was also an avid reader. Most of all, Kirk cherished his time with family, especially his grandchildren and great- grandchildren.
Kirk was the loving father of Kris, Karen (husband Paul), Kathy (husband John), and Kirk Jr (partner Rachel), 11 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren, and an extended close family of sons-in- law, brothers & sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews, some of whom fondly referred to him as “Bee” and “Uncle Bunny.”
A celebration of his life is being planned for the summer of 2024. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to send a gift to the Complex Care Department of Summa Health Systems, compassionate caregivers of nephew and niece, Michael and Mary Ann Carr.
