Rev. Dr. Eugene R. Hanson

The Reverend Doctor Eugene R. Hanson, 81, of Davenport, died in the confidence of resurrection life on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, at Ridgecrest Village, Davenport, Iowa.

A memorial service will be 11:30 a.m. Thursday, September 27, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, with visitation one hour prior to services. Inurnment, with U.S. Army honors, will be at National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, Rock Island, is assisting the family with arrangements. Memorials may be made to ELCA World Hunger;  Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.; Luther College, Decorah, Iowa; or the Lewy Body Dementia Association.

Eugene was born August 17, 1937, in Hayward, Wis., the only child of Wilbur and Gladys Monson Hanson. He married Naomi G. Borreson in 1959 in Harmony, Minn.

Eugene began his lifelong quest for knowledge at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, and received his Bachelor’s degree in 1959. He graduated from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. in 1963, and received his Master’s degree from Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., in 1978. In 1983, he earned his Doctorate in Ministry from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.

From 1963 to 1970, Eugene served as pastor for two parishes in western North Dakota: Bucyrus, with four churches and Towner, with three churches. He was called to serve as a chaplain in the U.S. Army by the ALC in 1971, and he retired from the Army as a Lt. Colonel in December of 1991. During the years in the military, he was assigned to Ft. Carson, Colo.; Da Nang, Vietnam; Ft. Campbell, Ky.; Hanau, Germany; Ft. Monmouth, N.J.; Frankfurt, Germany; Ansbach, Germany; and Atlanta, Ga.

He taught at the US Army Chaplain School from 1984 to 1986, and was selected to be the First Armor Division chaplain while in Ansbach from 1988 to 1990. He was witness to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. After retiring from the military, he served as senior pastor at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Beloit, Wis., from 1992 to 2002. Eugene retired from pastoral ministry in 2002.

Eugene was an avid reader and lifelong runner. He loved to pun and play games with his children around the kitchen table. He also enjoyed camping and extensive travel in Europe and the United States with his family.

Surviving are his wife, Naomi, of Davenport, Iowa; children (and spouses), Katie Hanson (Dr. Dave Crowe), Davenport, Dr. James Hanson (Heidi Faber-Nettrour), Ankeny, Iowa, and Suellen Hanson (Rev. Steve Grove), Minneapolis, Minn.; grandchildren, Michael Crowe (Melissa Erickson), Tyler Crowe, Emily Crowe, Tim Hanson, Megan Hanson, and Maddie Grove.

Eugene was preceded in death by his parents.

Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

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