Richard Kenneth Hanson

Richard Kenneth Hanson

Cedar Rapids

Richard Kenneth Hanson, 80, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Cottage Grove Place in Cedar Rapids. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 17, at Cedar Valley Bible Church: 3636 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A visitation will be held two hours prior, beginning at 9 a.m. at the church. The burial will be at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

Richard Kenneth Hanson was born Jan. 19, 1943, to Dr. Cyrus Kenneth Hanson and Genevieve Esther Hanson (Hvitved) in Charles City, Iowa. Richard has one younger brother, Dr. Wayne Robert Hanson.

Richard lived in Nashua, Iowa, during his youth. He was active with the Boys Scouts and enjoyed spending time with his grandparents on the farm and doing chores. As he got older, he enjoyed fishing with his younger brother and water skiing with friends. He also enjoyed working at this grandfather’s hardware store, Gambles. He enjoyed taking trips with his family to different states. One that he spoke about fondly was his trip to the Badlands, Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone. Richard was active in the high school band playing the trumpet and earning first seat. Richard graduated from Nashua High School in 1961. Following high school, Richard attended DeVry Technical Institute in Illinois.

On Feb. 27, 1970, Richard met the love of his life, Frieda Gorbatjuk, while working in Iowa City in a computer center. The following year on Feb. 28, 1971, before friends and family, Richard and Frieda were married at the United Methodist Church in Kalona, Iowa. During the next six years, Richard and Frieda settled into their new home, taking trips with his wife and family to Woman Lake in Minnesota and began working at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1975. On Nov. 12, 1977, Richard became a father for the first time to his son, Matthew Kenneth Hanson. He soon realized his life was missing something and on Dec. 18, 1979, his daughter, Jennifer Margaret Hanson completed the Hanson Family.

Throughout Richard’s adult life, he and Frieda attended Cedar Valley Bible Church in Cedar Rapids. Richard was a volunteer AWANA leader for many years. As Richard’s children became more involved with school activities and sports, Richard became a statistician initially for the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at Cedar Valley Christian School and later for volleyball, soccer, football, and baseball. Richard was a statistician for over 20 years, continuing well after his children graduated high school.

Richard was an active volunteer with the American Red Cross during the 1980s and 1990s where he assisted with local floods, tornado relief as well as assisting following Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Richard enjoyed driving SAG Wagon for RAGBRI for over 25 years. He took great honor when he was there to support his son, Matt when he rode RAGBRI. He also enjoyed attending baseball games watching the Cedar Rapids Reds/Kernels. Richard loved watching the Iowa Hawkeyes play any sport and was a true Cubs fan.

Following his retirement from Quaker Oats in 2005, Richard became a regular at Cedar Valley Christian School where he was eventually put on payroll as he was constantly helping with repairs. Richard enjoyed taking trips with his wife as well as his grandchildren.

Richard is survived by his loving wife, Frieda Hanson; two children, Matt Hanson and Jennifer (John) Scott; three grandchildren, Zoe Hanson, Cyrus Kilburg and Isabella Kilburg; a brother, Dr. Wayne Hanson; and extended loving family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to the Cedar Valley Christian School.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.