Dean Hanson

Dean Bruce Hanson. Dean arrived in heaven, ready for entertainment duty on October 24, 2018 after a battle with Glioblastoma. Dean was born in Isanti, Minnesota to Irma Carr Hanson and Hugo Hanson on August 1, 1939, joining brother Kenneth and sister Iris and Babe (Wilma).

Dean grew up in Buffalo, Minnesota, living there until a few years ago when he and Dee moved to his fishing paradise in Akeley, Minnesota. Dean and Dee were married on August 31, 1960. Dean got a readymade family with Dee, and daughters Cindy and Kathy & was the BEST daddy ever!

He loved people, loved entertaining & being the life of the party & joke telling. He never met a stranger, made every person he encountered “at ease” & was the first offered to help in any situation. Dean was active in the Buffalo Rodeo Association, Fire Department, Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion & Buffalo Rodeo Association. He was a naturally gifted auctioneer and event announcer at the Buffalo Rodeo and Wright County Fair and many other functions for years. Parades were another fun pastime, whether he was dressed in his “old lady costume”, walking the parade route, pulling a live pet skunk out of his purse to give everyone a scare or a laugh, (while mom rode her huge brown swiss steer Ole down the street), driving his antique tractor, or riding horseback with Dee and the girls in the Wright County Saddle Club Drill Team, they also escorted many Miss Buffalo royalty members to all the parades in the red convertible!! He had several interesting occupations from Auto Parts Store owner with Dee, Auto Sales for Buffalo Chrysler where he excelled at selling Dusters, Chargers, Road Runners and luxury Chryslers to everyone in town. He and Dee owned and operated Buffalo Asphalt and Seal Coating also Hanson Trucking and he worked for many years at Buffalo Bituminous, until his retirement.

Dean’s favorite pastime was fishing any lake, big game hunting in Montana and going to Canada on many annual moos hunts, where he always hosted and took along his special friends and he always came home with a big bull moose! Dee and Dean spent many winters traveling in Florida, Arizona & Nevada where they met up with friends from far and near & visits out to Montana to see the kids and grandkids!

Dean was preceded in death by his father Hugo, mother Irma, brother Kenneth and sister Iris. He is survived by loving wife Dee; daughter Cindy (Rod) Johnson, grandsons, Eric (Martel) , Andrew (Shauna); great- grandchildren, Riley & Austin, Eleanor and Evelyn Johnson of Polson; daughter Kathy(Dan) Jaramillo, granddaughter Casey (TJ) Sinclair, great-grandsons Seth and Kade Johnson of Ronan, MT; Deans sister Babe & Terry Walker & family of Buffalo, Minnesota; also Elwood & Carol Rentz and family of Buffalo, Minnesota.

Private family services to be held at Flathead Lake Polson, Montana. To celebrate the life of Dean, please have a toast to him, GO FISHING, tell a joke, (preferably about Ole & Lena (with accent), play cards and take your kids, friends to a rodeo & a parade! Memorials can be made to the American Cancer Society, your local food bank or your local animal shelter.