Susan May Hansen

Sue Hansen, a loving mother of three sons and grandmother of five grandchildren, went home to the Lord on Saturday, October 15, 2016. While her sudden passing is heartbreaking for her family and many friends, we know that Sue, a devoted Christian, is now in Heaven with God.

Susan May Alexander was born on July 16, 1940, in Danville, Illinois. Her parents, Carroll Laing Alexander and Martha Eleanor Helmick, were married on June 29, 1935, in Peoria, Illinois.
Carroll and Eleanor’s first child and Sue’s older brother, David Alexander, was born in Peoria on September 2, 1936. Sue came along four years later after her parents had moved to Danville, where her father had gotten a new job as a department store manager.

In 1942, the Alexander family moved to Rockford, Illinois. Sue graduated from Rockford’s East High School in 1958. In preparation for her life-long career in the medical profession, Sue then attended the School of Radiologic Technology at Swedish American Hospital in Rockford. She graduated from the program in 1960, and was quickly hired as a full-time radiologic technician at the same hospital.

On April 6, 1963, Sue married Thomas Donald Hansen in Rockford. The first of their three sons, Brian Thomas Hansen, was born in Rockford on February 4, 1964. Their second child, Jeffrey Scott Hansen, was born in Rockford on April 10, 1966. After a few years of living in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Sue, Tom, Brian and Jeff became enthusiastic fans of the Green Bay Packers football team, the family moved to Cottage Grove, Minnesota. On March 28, 1969, Sue and Tom’s third son, Eric Karl Hansen, was born in nearby St. Paul, Minnesota.

Sue’s mother Eleanor passed away in 1963 in Rockford. Her father, Carrol, passed in 1978 in the same city.

Sue and her family moved to Fargo, North Dakota, in 1974. For the next 16 years, Sue worked as a radiologic technician at the Fargo Clinic. Sue and Tom divorced in 1982. Sue married Lloyd Gerster in 1987. They divorced in 1990.

Sue took her career to a higher level by leaving the Fargo Clinic for Agfa, a multi-national medical imaging company. Sue traveled extensively in that job, and she lived in several locations around the country, including Hartford, Connecticut, Ft. Worth, Texas, and Smyrna, Georgia.

On February 25, 1997, in Fargo, Sue’s son Eric and his wife Tami brought their daughter Samantha Joy Hansen into the world, blessing Sue with the first of her five grandchildren. Sue’s son Jeff and his wife Jennifer, had their first child, Tanner Jeffrey Hansen, on February 27, 2004, in Bismarck, North Dakota. Eric and Tami’s second child, Nathan Karl Hansen, was born on April 6, 2004. Jeff and Jennifer’s second child, Abigail Joy Hansen, was born on April 27, 2005. Their third child, Elizabeth Joy Hansen, was born on July 21, 2009.

In 2004, Sue retired from Agfa and returned to Fargo so she could be close to her sons Eric and Jeff and her beloved grandchildren. Brian, Sue’s oldest son, was working as a journalist in Washington, D.C., at the time. In 2014, Brian took a new job in the electricity industry in Carmel, Indiana.

Sue became a member of First United Methodist Church in Fargo on March 8, 2009. The church was a major part of Sue’s life, and she was very active in it. She participated in Bible study and the Wednesday night suppers, and served as an usher and greeter at Sunday services. She also volunteered her time to work in the church’s office and Caring Closet, which collects and distributes clothes to families and children. Sue especially loved working with her many dear friends at the church to sew quilts for baptisms and other purposes. Overall, she loved the time she spent growing her faith with her church family.

Sue is survived by her sons, Brian (Carmel, Indiana), Jeff (Bismarck, North Dakota) and Eric (Sabin, Minnesota); her grandchildren, Samantha and Nathan of Sabin, and Tanner, Abigail and Elizabeth of Bismarck and her brother, David Alexander (Rochester, MN),

Sue’s family thanks the members and pastors of First United Methodist Church for their compassion and sympathy, and for sharing their memories of our dearly beloved mother and grandmother.