Howard Leonard Hanson

Howard L. Hanson, Jr., age 93, of Fishers, Indiana passed away peacefully on Saturday July 9, 2022. He died of Parkinson’s Disease.

Howard was born on September 14, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio to Howard L. and Marjorie (Tuott) Hanson. He graduated from Glenville High School in Cleveland. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia University in New York, NY, Case-Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, and Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky after completing research in Paris, France.

Howard began his career teaching French and Spanish languages in high schools in Ohio and later taught at Malone College in Canton, Ohio. In 1967, he began his long tenure as a beloved professor of French at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. Howard loved teaching and helping college students and was the faculty advisor to Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship at WIU. He was also a founding member on the Board of Western Illinois Youth for Christ. After retirement, he and his wife, Fama, spent nine months in Japan teaching English as a second language.

His relationship with Jesus was vibrant, and his life mission was to share God’s message of forgiveness. Many people heard this message from him during the 50 years that he taught Sunday School and as he served in a variety of mission trips. Church was very important to him, and he was a member for many years at University Baptist Church in Macomb, Illinois, and most recently at Hamilton Hills Church in Fishers, Indiana.

Howard enjoyed many hobbies including piano playing, word games, crossword and jigsaw puzzles, reading, speaking French, and performing in community theater. In the 1990s, Howard constructed a crossword puzzle that was published in the New York Times. He was an avid gardener and loved to travel. His love of walking took him on many journeys through state and local parks, and he maintained a disciplined swimming schedule. He had a trademark sense of humor and it was a significant part of his personality even at the end of his life.

Howard is survived by his wife, Fama (Gerhart) Hanson; three children: Elizabeth (Doug) Cox, Damaris Hanson, and Timothy (Tonda) Hanson; and one sister, Marilyn (David) Henne. He was very proud of his three grandsons: Caleb Cox, Luke Cox, and Max Hanson. His nieces and nephews were also part of his life: Nathan Henne, Karis Henne, and Alice Gifford.