Violet "Vy" Hansen

Violet “Vy” Hansen passed away on November 1, 2023, in Dallas, TX.  She was born Violet Rose Lisetta Meyer on September 23, 1928, in Warrenton, Missouri. Vy attended Warrenton schools, graduating from Warrenton High School in 1946. She continued her education at Elmhurst College, in Elmhurst, IL; at Evangelical Deaconess Hospital, in St. Louis, where she received the Outstanding Student Award (1952); and at the Indiana School of Nursing, in Indianapolis, receiving her RN/BS degree in 1953.

At Indianapolis General Hospital, where she was employed as a clinical instructor, Vy met a young medical student, Richard D. “Hap” Hansen, while they were both working on the communicable diseases ward. Vy and Hap were married on June 13, 1953, and celebrated over 50 years of marriage before Hap’s death in 2005.

After Hap received his MD degree in 1954, he joined the Air Force, and Hap and Vy began a life of travel together to duty stations in San Francisco, CA; Wethersfield AFB, England; Boston, MA; San Antonio, TX; Dayton, OH; Minot, N.D.; Colorado Springs, CO; Taipei, Taiwan; Phoenix, AZ; Hampton, VA; and Kaiserslautern, Germany. Vy was president of the Officers Wives Clubs at many of Hap’s duty stations during those years.

Vy was a past president of the wives’ Wing of the Aerospace Medical Association; a former Chairman of the Red Cross Association at Langley AFB, VA; and a former European Area Red Cross Chairman while at Ramstein Airbase, Germany. Vy was a Girl Scout leader for many years, once serving as Program Chair of the San Antonio Council.  She received the Girl Scouts’ “Thanks Badge,” the highest volunteer recognition award.  During the years 1998–2002, she was a member of the Virginia Commonwealth Council on the Aging. Vy was a member of the Yorktown, VA, Arts Foundation, and was active in the Republican Women’s Club of Virginia. After Hap retired from the Air Force in 1984, Vy was employed as a public health nurse by the Middlesex County, VA, Health Department, instituting a six-county hypertension program, which she later developed into a cardiovascular risk reduction program serving 10 counties. 

Vy was a recipient of the Warrenton High School Outstanding Alumni Award (2007), the Elmhurst College Founders Medal (2005), and an award for the Outstanding Contribution to Youth Activities at Luke AFB (1971).

Vy was an avid mahjong player, and also played tennis until the age of 88. Once asked how she continued to play tennis at such an advanced age, she replied, “Well, when they hit the ball to me, I hit it back. When they don’t hit it to me, I just stand there.“ Vy was active in the Langley and York River, VA, Yacht Clubs, serving as Editor of the Langley Yacht Club newsletter, Back River Talk (1979-1980). She loved sailing with her husband on the Chesapeake Bay in their 30-foot sloop Sunspur; and she continued to enjoy traveling after Hap’s death, making trips to Ireland, South Africa, Italy, Russia, China, Peru, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, France, Spain, Greece, and The Holy Land.  She loved making both river and ocean cruises on Viking Cruise Lines, and was one of the longest-living Dallas Cowboys fans.

As one of the original residents of The Legacy at Willow Bend in Plano, TX, Vy made many wonderful friends over her 14 years there.  She was able to stay in her own home during her last months because of the dedicated staff who are a part of The Legacy at Home. Texas Health Presbyterian Plano 4th Floor nurses provided exceptional care in her last week, followed by a most caring staff at T. Boone Pickens Faith Presbyterian Hospice.  

Vy was pre-deceased by her parents, Hugo C. Meyer and Adeline Groeper Meyer, and by her sister, Mae Meyer Carey. Vy is survived by her sister, Verneal Newhouse Minderman; by her children, J. Mark Hansen (Beth); Richard D. Hansen, Jr. (Bebe), and Heidi Hansen McCrory (Bill); by grandchildren Helen Hansen Jbeily (Mark), Hannah Hansen, Richard D. Hansen III, Alexandra Hansen, Kirin McCrory (Matthew Burgos), and Austin McCrory (Meredith Murphy); and by many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, and great-grand-nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held in the main building at The Legacy at Willow Bend, 6101 Ohio Drive, Plano, TX, on November 16, at 2:00 p.m. with a reception to follow at The Legacy.  An extended family Celebration of Life will be held next spring at the family cabin in Warrenton, MO.  In lieu of flowers, gifts in Vy’s memory may be made to the American Red Cross, PO Box 37839, Boone, IA, 50037-0839, or a charity close to your heart.

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