Obituary of Henry Fleming Hansen

 

Henry was born on January 13, 1931, in Copenhagen, Denmark.  He grew up in an apartment building that overlooked the Copenhagen railroad switch yard.  Maybe that is where he acquired his love for trains and model train sets.  His extended family lived in a small town outside of Copenhagen and he also spent lots of time with them.  He and his family lived through the German occupation of Denmark during WWII. 

 

Starting at age 17, Henry traveled to Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, returning to Denmark each time, and eventually making his way to Canada when he was 20.  After spending a few years in Canada, he settled in the United States in 1954.  He joined the U.S. Air Force shortly before he married June Seversen in January 1955.  He and June had three children.  His daughter was born while he was stationed at Offutt Air Force base in Nebraska, and his two sons were born in Seattle, Washington, where the family had moved so that Henry could study at the University of Washington.  He graduated from the U of W with a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering. 

 

In 1964, Henry accepted a job with the State of Washington as a highway bridge engineer and worked there until he retired.  He had many interests and hobbies.  He loved boating and took his young children on canoe rides.  He liked short hikes and walking in the many forests of Western Washington.  He played and coached soccer for several years.  He was an excellent builder, restored the family home, and built a model train layout in the basement.  He mastered classical guitar and, in later years, he took up ballroom dancing.  During the 1970s, he bought a sailboat and spent the next 40 years sailing around Puget Sound in his spare time. 

 

He and June were divorced in the early 1980s. 

 

In his current home, Henry built another model train layout complete with scenery, and turned a bedroom into a model ship yard.  He designed and built from scratch four classic model sailing ships to scale. 

 

Henry passed away January 7, 2020.  He is survived by his daughter, Audrey Wiggins (Ron) of Wyoming; sons, Arne Hansen of Olympia, Washington, and Carl Hansen (Judith) of the Island of Guernsey, United Kingdom; four grandchildren, Matthew Wiggins (Emily), Mark “Buzz” Wiggins, Margaret Wiggins and Julie Hansen; three great granddaughters; his sister, Eva Gram; his nephews, Lars Gram and Thomas Bennetzen; niece, Anna Bennetzen (Carsten Thomsen) of Denmark; and five great nieces and nephews.  He also is survived by his dear friend, Cathy Jensen of Lacey, Washington; and his former wife, June Hansen of Olympia, Washington. 

 

Because family members have to travel from overseas, a memorial service will be held at a later time. 

 

 

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