BREWER – Hester Hanson, 89, died Oct. 1, 2006, at a Bangor hospital. She was born Dec. 28, 1916, in Bar Harbor, the daughter of Percy Glenwood and Bernice (Pinkham) Billings. She attended Bangor schools and graduated from Bangor High School, going on to receive a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Maine – Orono, where she was a member of the Phi Mu Sorority. After marriage to Fred in 1942, she joined him in New York, where they both worked at Sperry Gyroscope Co., a defense industry company. After the war ended, they returned to Bangor and eventually settled in Brewer, where she raised her four children and became very involved with their activities and various community and social organizations, which included the Shakespeare Club and the Patawa Club. In 1964, she joined Fred as a partner and bookkeeper at the newly formed Bangor True Value Hardware, which was the retail side of Dunham-Hanson Co. Since her philosophy that the body should wear out instead of rusting out, she continued to work long after her retirement. Even though her eyesight continued to fail, she learned to memorize the figures needed and did the math in her head as others recorded the figures for her on the appropriate forms. Her passions in life were slipping little gifts to people, taking her family out to eat at local restaurants where her favorites were lobster rolls or fried shrimp and enjoying her little piece of waterfront property, the sailboat Nereus, which was moored in Northeast Harbor. She and Fred loved sailing along the coast of Maine and sharing it with family and friends. Most recently, she spent a lot of her time listening to The Iris Network, doing an adaptive Sudoku and adaptive word jumbles. “Sessie,” as she was known, was a very loving and giving person, always thinking of others first. Hester is survived by her husband of 64 years, Fred Hanson of Brewer; two daughters, Carolyn Thompson and her husband, Ray, of Brewer and Helen Schacht of Greenville; two sons, Dick Hanson and his wife, Brenda, of Orrington and Tom Hanson and his wife, Anne, of Orrington. Sessie had nine grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, several cousins, nieces, nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. She is also survived by her brother, Percy “Bud” G. Billings Jr. and his wife, Eleanor (England) Billings of Fredericksburg, Va., who summer in Trenton. The family fondly thanks Patti Gonyar and Mary Lou Blackwell for their devotion to Hester. Friends are invited to visit with family 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Kiley Funeral Home, 69 State St., Brewer. A celebration of her life will be held 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, at All Souls Congregational Church, 10 Broadway, Bangor, with the Rev. Dr. James L. Haddix, pastor and teacher, officiating. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor, In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Iris Network, 12 Acme Road, Suite 104, Brewer, ME 04412 or to a charity of choice.
HESTER HANSON
