Richard Paul Hansen

RICHARD PAUL HANSEN

Richard Paul Hansen passed away peacefully on July 22, 2025 while residing in Meadowview Assisted Living in Emmett, Idaho. He died of natural causes at the age of 97 years.

Richard was born in Beloit, Kansas on August 21, 1927 to Herman Hansen and Marian (Long) Hansen. His parents were divorced when Richard was 2, and he and his two older sisters, Evelyn Jeanne and Marilee Beth, were raised mostly by their maternal grandparents. His father remained in Kansas.

In 1930, when Richard was 2 ½, the entire family (mother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, Richard and his sisters) moved to Oregon City, Oregon to farm. They lived there for 4 years.

In 1934, the family relocated to a farm in Alfalfa, Oregon where his mother Marian remarried but passed away in 1936 from childbirth complications. The grandparents & family lived there until 1941, when they bought a farm in the Weiser Flat area, Idaho along the Snake River. Richard attended Weiser High School & graduated in 1945. He joined the Navy a couple of months later, just one week after he turned 18 years old, at the end of WWII.

Richard went through Basic Training and Gunnery School in Jacksonville, Florida, with some additional Electronics schooling in Oklahoma. He recalls participating in reconnaissance flights to Panama, Cuba, Guantanamo, Biscayne Bay, Bermuda, East coast of the U.S., etc. as a Gunner / Electronics Technician. He also had Aircraft Carrier tours on the USS FDR and USS Midway as well as Norfolk AFB and to the Mediterranean, where he was able to travel some in Italy (Naples, Trieste, Rome, and Sicily). Richard served for 4 years in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged in September 1949.

After serving in the Navy, Richard went to an Electronics school in New York City, and was trained as a 1st Class Radio/Telephone Technician Specialist.

In 1950, Richard’s first job after Electronics school was with the Idaho State Highway Dept. He lived in Rigby, Idaho. His job required him to maintain communications equipment in Eastern and Southern Idaho—Pocatello, Gooding, Rigby, Stanley area, etc. He helped build microwave stations on trucks and mountain locations, and he maintained that equipment to monitor and report road conditions, weather, etc. Richard talked of having to travel to many remote locations to get the work done.

In 1957, Richard was hired by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) as a Certified Electronics Specialist, where he worked for the next 26 years. His main responsibilities were maintaining equipment & relay stations, mobile stations, and airport control towers for navigation aids, air traffic control, instrument landing systems, communications equipment, teletypes (printers) etc. He also participated in building No-Visibility Landing systems at the Salt Lake City airport. While he lived in Salt Lake City as his home-base, he traveled all over Utah, Nevada, Southern Idaho and portions of Colorado to maintain the air traffic control systems. Richard eventually retired in 1984, about the age of 57.

Most of Richard’s hobbies and interests involved nature and the outdoors. He was an avid photographer, especially of landscapes and animals. He enjoyed all kinds of fishing, motorcycle riding, and some hunting. In his mid-40’s, Richard also took dance lessons, learning to do the Foxtrot, Waltz, 2-Step and Swing, and he enjoyed going to the dance clubs in Salt Lake City.

Richard was also a “tinkerer/inventor”. He had a mechanical mind & very much enjoyed building things, taking things apart and figuring out how things work. In his later years he built his own version of an electric bike (before they became popular) as well as many other things. Richard was also Very frugal & his inventor mind would always figure out a way to make do with what he had or build what he needed out of parts available.

At the time of his retirement, Richard bought an Avon 22’ pull trailer and became a “Snowbird”. He would spend summers at his place in Donnelly/Lake Cascade, Idaho & then travel down south to winter in Nevada, Arizona, or California—most particularly Yuma / Los Algodones area. He made friends in these retirement communities that lasted for many years.

During the summer months, Richard worked to improve his property in Donnelly. He built a cabin/shed for storage, installed a water and irrigation system, installed power pole, cut down trees, did grading and drainage improvements, etc. But it wasn’t all work. Richard also enjoyed hiking the area, riding his motorcycle, and occasional fishing. One of his favorite pastimes there was watching the clouds roll down the mountain when storms were moving in. He said the different formations and shapes were fascinating.

One of Richard’s proudest accomplishments during the course of his life was that he was able to visit all 50 states of the United States. Richard also maintained a close relationship with his older sister Jeanne through the years & would often spend time with her in summers and help with projects when she lived in Oregon & Idaho. Richard was never married but is survived by several cousins, nieces & nephews.

At the age of 93, Richard came to realize that it was time to quit traveling (mainly due to age). He spent a year and a half in Middleton, Idaho, then in 2023 it was decided to move into Meadowview Assisted Living in Emmett, Idaho. The caregivers who assisted him took very good care of him there. His nephew and friend, Eric Stokes assisted him during this time and visited him often. His good friends, Steve & Gerry Case, and other friends and neighbors from Donnelly also visited. Richard had a good sense of humor and was friendly to Most around him. He will be missed & remembered!