Laurel Hanson

Laurel M. Hanson passed away peacefully at her Rosholt, SD, home, on September 12, 2024, after a battle with lung cancer.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Lisa and Brent Allen; grandchildren and their families – Emily and Byron Clarke, daughters Adeline and Remi; Jerod and Machelle Hanson, daughters Kenzleigh and Eliza; by her sisters, Doris Pulford and Ardyth Voss; several nieces and nephews; and her beloved Schnauzer, Molly.

She is preceded in death by her son, Jeffrey Royce Alvin Hanson; her parents, Wallace and Hattie Hardie; and by her siblings, Lavonne Troxell, Sybil Barnum, Janie Anderson, Marlys Sando, Captain Richard Hardie, and Charles Hardie. And by her husband of nearly 56 years, Royce Alvin Hanson.

Laurel was born the youngest of ten children to Wallace and Hattie. She was raised on the family farm in LaMars Township, ND, and baptized and confirmed at the English Lutheran Church in Fairmount, ND. At the age of 16, she and her parents moved into Rosholt, where she would graduate from high school and meet who would become her husband. After school she attended a business college in Fargo, honing her secretarial skills.

Soon she and Royce were married, and she took on the most difficult lessons of becoming a cowboy's wife, as well as a mother. She and Royce learned this lifestyle together, with their two children. Throughout their life they lived in some 30 plus places; each she would make a clean, neat, functioning home. Whether it meant hauling water, or living with no electricity or indoor plumbing, she succeeded in making them all home sweet home. Even while working outside of the home, she could sometimes be found needing to feed a working crew of cowboys, with her trusty daughter working diligently at her side. This life provided lots of experiences, hardships, and many wonderful memories and friendships.

She enjoyed keeping house, doing various kinds of needlework, especially crochet; reading, playing cards or other games, and working in the garden, both vegetables and flowers. When relocating back to Rosholt, it meant a lot to her to lovingly tend to her mother's roses. She also enjoyed visiting with friends and relatives.

Funeral services for Laurel will be at 11:00 a.m. on September 23, 2024, at Bethania Lutheran Church in Rosholt. Reverend Nancy Quatier will be officiating, and Roderick Voss will provide the music. Burial to follow at the Fairmount Cemetery, Fairmount, ND.