Harvey Hanson

Harvey J. Hanson, 98, of Denver passed away Friday, February 4, 2011. Survived by his children, Patricia (Donald) McGraw, Joey (Ina) Hanson, Judith (Gary)Parker, and Michael Hanson; eleven grandchildren; eighteen great grandchildren; four great-great grandchildren; and sister, Elisabeth Goemmer. Visitation, Thursday, 5-7PM, Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3020 Federal Blvd. Funeral Service, Friday, 10:30AM, at Horan & McConaty. THE HARVEY ""JOE"" HANSON STORY Harvey Judd (aka: Joe) Hanson was born July 30, 1912 in Ivanhoe, Lincoln County, Minnesota, the son of Hans Elert Hanson and Anna Christina Stromberg-Lovestrand. He was the eighth of twelve children born to Hans and Anna. Joe worked as a ranch hand in Wyoming digging fence postholes before enlisting (at the age of 23 years) in the U.S. Army on March 11, 1936 at Fort Logan, Colorado where he was assigned to duty at Fitzsimmons General Hospital Medical Department as a Military Policeman in Denver, Colorado. In the Army, if they didn't know the soldier's first name, they always called him ""Joe"", the name stuck, he liked it, and he remained Joe ever since. After completing three years of active service and receiving his Honorable Discharge on March 10, 1939, he worked at the New Method Cleaners, a dry cleaning company located at Colfax Avenue and Ogden Street next door to the Ogden Theater, doing citywide deliveries. Then one day in 1942, he got a job hauling dirt and gravel until he was hired by the Fitzsimmons Bus Company as a Bus Driver at a rate of $.75 an hour. For a while he held down both jobs working long and hard hours to make ends meet. About a year later the Fitzsimmons Bus Company merged with the Denver Tramway Company on May 1, 1943 until the City and County of Denver's transit operations were sold to the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in 1974. Joe retired from the RTD on September 30, 1978 (at the age of 66) after 36 years of faithful service and became one of the founding fathers and President of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 1001, Retired Chapter, which was formed on July 1, 1984. He remained active with the ATU 1001, Retired Chapter, until approximately August 2009 when he became the President Emeritus. Joe married the lovely Edith Rebecca Cormack on June 8, 1937 by a Justice Of The Peace in Littleton, Colorado. This union produced four children; Joey Eugene, Judith Ann, Patricia Louise and Michael Bruce Hanson. Joe and Edith enjoyed fifty-seven years together before Edith's untimely death on May 1, 1994. Joe's favorite hobbies were cutting out old newspaper articles and pasting them in his scrapbook and he loved listening to the old ""Blue Yodeler"", Jimmy Rodgers, the singing brakeman. Although he loved his hobbies, he remained dedicated to his first love, the ATU 1001, Retired Chapter, constantly working hard at transacting Chapter business with one or more members of the Executive Board most Thursdays and conducting the monthly meeting every third Friday. Please share your memories of Harvey and condolences with the family by selecting the ""Sign Guestbook"" button below.