Updated 8/23/24 @ 4:40 p.m. to add information regarding the casket.
Leo Jorgen Hansen, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, passed away in Janesville, Wisconsin, on August 18, 2024, at the age of 98. Leo was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 15, 1925, and spoke Danish before he learned English. He entered the work force at the age of 12, assisting his father, a house painter. When he was 17 years old, the family moved to a 120-acre farm on the southeast edge of Whitewater, Wisconsin. The family initially worked the fields with two teams of workhorses and milked 15 cows by hand. Leo graduated from Whitewater High School in June 1943 and worked as a painter until he entered the United States Navy in June 1944. His construction battalion took part in the invasion and liberation of the Philippines. Leo was honorably discharged from the Navy in June 1946.
Encouraged by his high school agriculture teacher and enabled by the GI Bill, Leo entered the University of Wisconsin, Madison in Fall 1946. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture in 1949, Master of Science degree in Dairy and Food Industries in 1951 and Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1953. During the first 20 years of his career, Leo worked as a research food chemist and product developer for Chr. Hansen’s Laboratory, Oscar Meyer, and Armour Foods. He held six patents.
Leo married Muriel, a childhood friend, on October 16, 1954. By the mid-1960’s, Leo redirected his career from research to management. He attended the University of Chicago’s School of Business while working full-time and received a Master of Business Administration degree in March 1969. One year later, Muriel died from breast cancer, leaving Leo as a single parent of children 10 and 13 years old.
To avoid relocation by Armour to Phoenix, Arizona, Leo quit his job in Summer 1973. Two months later, he was hired by the Nestle Company to be the quality control manager for a large chocolate factory in Fulton, New York. In addition to managing a staff of 50, Nestle trained him to be a professional taste tester. Leo said it was the best job he held during his career.
Leo met Audrey, his future wife, in 1978 at church and they married on October 30, 1981. They relocated to Wisconsin after Leo retired from Nestle in 1991.
Leo was a dedicated runner and enjoyed competing in 5K races. He was a master woodworker and meticulously built, repaired, and refinished furniture. Leo was an active member of the Milton Historical Society and the Rock River Valley Carvers of Wisconsin. For many years, he was an exhibitor at the Rock River Thresheree, where he demonstrated woodworking techniques.
A deeply committed Christian, Leo served in many church leadership roles, including Sunday school superintendent, Sunday school teacher, deacon, and elder. In recent years, he attended Faith Community Church (Janesville) and Church on the Rock. His faith in God sustained him through hardship and life’s uncertainties. Leo was humble, kind, and will be greatly missed.
Leo was preceded in death by his parents, Knud Vilhelm Hansen and Magda Agnete Dorothea Andersen Hansen, his brothers Kenneth, Norman, and Lloyd, his sister Ellen Brushaber, and his first wife, Muriel (Fischer) Hansen. He is survived by his wife, Audrey (Lucas) Hansen, son Clifford Hansen, daughter Elise (Steve) Tripp, stepson David Lucas, grandchildren Nathan Tripp and Hannah (Thomas) DeBoer, great-granddaughter Etta DeBoer, as well as his brother Vernon (Donalee) Hansen, sister Esther (Robert) Johnson, and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will take place at 11 AM on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at Nitardy Funeral Home, 550 N. Newcomb St., Whitewater, WI 53190. Visitation will take place from 10 AM until the time of service. A burial immediately following services will take place at Hillside Cemetery in Whitewater. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a Christian charity of your choice.
The family would like to give special thanks to Rock Haven and Agrace Hospice staff for the compassionate care Leo received.
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Phil. 4: 8
Online condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Phil. 4: 8
A note about the casket: Leo’s casket was made by the monks of New Mellary Abbey, a Trappist monastery located outside Dubuque, Iowa. Faithful to the Rule of St. Benedict, the monks support themselves through casket making. Trees from the monks’ own forest provide some of the lumber for the caskets.
