About Howard
Howard Helge Hansen, 70, died peacefully at home in Essex Junction on October 4, 2010 with his family beside him. This ended a 17-year struggle to live well despite his prostate cancer. In the end hormone refractory prostate cancer and its complications took him away. Throughout his life Howard was a hiker, backpacker, rock climber, cross-country skier, runner, traveler and adventurer – all shared with his wife Joan and son Paul.
He was born on May 12, 1940 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of four children born to Helge and Dorothy (Guttekunst) Hansen. After graduation from the University of Michigan in 1962 he worked 35 years for IBM in Endicott, New York; Manassas, Virginia; and Essex Junction, Vermont. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from SUNY Binghamton and was a Senior Engineer in semiconductor technology development when he retired.
He loved to hike and through the years hiked and backpacked the whole Long Trail, all of the Adirondack 46ers (twice), White Mountains, and Hundred Highest in New England before starting to do mountaineering in the highest western mountains of the Rockies, Cascades and other interesting ranges. He climbed Mt. Rainier (twice), Mt. Hood, and Mt. Whitney. One of the more challenging family trips was the glacier trip on the Ptarmigan Traverse in Washington State.
In the wintertime, cross-country skiing was the major activity. He led the Ski Touring Section of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club while living in Virginia. Moving to Underhill Center, Vermont, in 1977 meant there was skiing out the back door. This led to ski racing and many backcountry ski trips.
Howard was an exceptional trip planner for travels for family and friends. For years the trips were to the mountains out west. After his diagnosis with prostate cancer in 1993, the trip planning switched to hut-to-hut tours in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy where he could eat polenta and goulash or canederli in broth. He and Joan, his wife and companion for 33 years, made 16 trips to Italy (often with son Paul, family and friends) despite his declining athletic ability as time went by.
When not planning trips to divert himself from the myriad complications related to his cancer, he devoted regular and endless hours to helping other men facing prostate cancer. Initially he ran the Burlington Area Prostate Cancer Support Group and helped affiliate it with “Us Too.” Then, as his cancer progressed and became more challenging, he co-founded the Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer Association that is now a non-profit comprised of a web site (www.hrpca.org) about all aspects of the disease as well as an online discussion/support group for men all over the world who are dealing with this advanced disease for which there is no cure. Just before his death, Howard received the prestigious Harry S. Pinchot Award of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute. This prize recognizes unsung heroes of the prostate cancer community who are making a difference in the lives of other patients and their families.
He is survived by his wife and dear friend Joan MacKenzie of Essex Junction; beloved son Paul Hansen and wife Kris Surette also of Essex Junction; his sister Leona O’Neill and husband Michael of Richland, Washington; his sister Alice Groth of Walker, Minnesota; his brother Douglas Hansen and wife Patricia of Freeland, Michigan; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to thank the many medical specialists who helped Howard throughout his journey: His collaborative, patient, and protective medical oncologist of 12 years Dr. Paul Unger, nurses Anne Gibbon and Margaret Sussman of the Vermont Center for Cancer Medicine; his faithful radiation oncologist Thomas Roland, M.D. who was there at the beginning and right until the end; and Patti O’Brien M.D. who helped Howard thrive and climb vie ferrate despite chronic lymphadema. Thanks also to the angels from the Hospice Program of the Chittenden County Visiting Nurse Association who swooped down and helped us all in Howard’s hours of need.
A celebration of Howard’s life, adventures, and medical journey will be held at the Blue Paddle Bistro in South Hero on Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 2 p.m. All are welcome to bring short remembrances to share. Photos of Howard’s adventures are posted at www.paulhansen.com where friends and family may leave online messages. In accordance with Howard’s wishes, his journey is not quite over. Memorial hikes will be planned for Mount Mansfield, Giant Mountain in the Adirondacks and a peak in the Dolomites at a later date. His final resting place will be in West Stafford, Connecticut, in a cemetery where generations of Joan’s family are buried.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests that contributions may be made to the Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer Association, Inc. (c/o Bruce Laumeister, Treasurer, CTC Corporation, P.O. Box 260, Bennington, Vermont 05201) or to the Green Mountain Club (4711 Waterbury-Stowe Rd., Waterbury Ctr., Vermont 05677).
