Paul Vern Hansen

Born 03 November 1906

Richfield, Sevier, Utah, United States

Died 19 September

Boulder Town, Garfield, Utah, United States

Burial 23 September 1988

Richfield, Sevier, Utah, United States

Remembering Vern

-By Delores Bowman

Christian Andres Hansen and Annie Catherine Larsen Hansen were the parents of my father, Paul Vern Hansen and his other brothers and sisters. Dad was a twin. His sister was Vera Pauline. They were called Vern and Vera. Dad said, " I was born first and had to wait ever so patiently, sitting on the edge of the bed, until my sister was born." Of course he was joking. They were born 03 November 1906 in Richfield, Sevier, Utah at his Grandma Larsen's home.

When Dad was one and a half years old, he moved with his parents, two brothers and twin sister from Richfield to Boulder to make their home. They traveled in their little red wagon with the team of horses, milk cow and a little colt named Rowdy. They arrived at their new home in "Lower Boulder" in the middle of the night, 16 April 1908. It took about a week to make the journey of two hundred miles.

His eldest brother, Franklin Cortell was born 29 October 190l. He married Jean Dodds, from Panguitch, Garfield, Utah. They had no children, but were school teachers in Garfield County for forty years. Twin brothers were born in Richfield, Utah 17 March 1903. They were Annell Owen and Christy Omer. Owen died of spinal meninigitis 31 October 1903 just a few days after his Father left for his mission to Bergen Norway. Uncle Omer never married, but lived with Grandma and looked out for her well-being.

Vera married Clinton Johnson. They had four children. Freeman, Robert, Dorothy Ann and David. They lived in Richfield, Utah. Dad and Mother had three children: Delores born 07 May 1939, Anna Lee 08 January 1944 and Paul 14 January 1946. Both my sister and brother were born in the Salina Hospital, Salina, Sevier, Utah.

Later other siblings were born: George Hyrum was born 07 October 1908 in Boulder, Garfield, Utah. He married Erna Hall and they had three sons, Richard, Hurley and Dewey. They lived in Boulder, Richfield and later to Cedar City, Iron, Utah.

Then Esther Marie was born 19 September 1910 in Richfield at her Grandma Larsen's house. She married Lafayette Jones and they were the parents of six children: two boys and four girls. There were Kathleen (Sky), Frankie Dee, John Ronald, Juanita, Mary Esther and Christine. They lived in Lehi, Utah, Utah.

Joseph Reed was born in Boulder 16 December 1912. He married Marie Allen and they had two daughters: JoAnn and LuJean. He died about a year after LuJean was born (1940). Aunt Marie sold her house to my Dad and moved to Provo with her two little girls to attend beauty school.

Annie Christella was born 13 November 1914, about three weeks after her Dad's death in Richfield, Utah. She married Joseph Alan Naylor and they had five children: Helen, Frances, little Joe, Patricia and Cecile. They lived in Alexandria, Virginia where Uncle Joe worked for the Marriott's.

When Grandpa Hansen knew he was going to die of "silicosis," he said to my Dad, "Vern, please help your Mother and take care of the family." Even though he was only eight years old at the time, he took to heart what his father had said. He only went to the ninth grade.

Boulder had school for the lower grades, but the students had to leave and go live with relatives in Teasdale, Panguitch, Escalante or Richfield if they wanted to get more schooling. Dad and his siblings stayed with their Hansen grandparents.

Dad had good common sense and was very good at math, as were all the Hansen brothers. Neither he nor his brothers were inducted into the military because they had to help Grandma Hansen run the ranch, therefore they got a permanent deferment.

In the fall of 1927, Dad and his twin sister, Vera, were called to be missionaries to the Northwest Mission. Dad spent most of his mission in Oregon and Aunt Vera spent her mission in Washington State. He often spoke fondly of the people and his experiences in the North West.

I remember of him talking of places like Portland, Bend, etc., and President Sloan. Because they went without "Purse or Script," they often had very little to eat. He spoke of his companion, Elder Flake from Snowflake, Arizona, making "Flake Gravy." This delectable dish was made from flour and water, with a little salt for seasoning. This was one step above starvation,

One time several of the Elders were able to travel to the Cardston Alberta (Canada) Temple. This temple was in their temple district and was one of six temples in the whole church. Four of them were in Utah. They were the Logan, Salt Lake, Manti and St. George Temples. The sixth one was in Idaho Falls. Today, 2005, thanks to the profound vision of our Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, we have about 122 working temples. Isn't it wonderful what has happened as far as temple building has gone in the past eighty years?

After his mission, Dad and his brother, George, went to live in Salt Lake City and drive truck for Kennecott Copper. Those trucks were huge. They are filled with copper ore and then hauled out of this very large, deep pit to the smelter where it was refined.

Dad often spoke of the "Coon Chicken Inn," which had the best fried chicken in the West. That was before the birth of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

About one year of living and working in Salt Lake City, Dad returned to the ranch in Boulder to become a farmer and rancher once again. This was the occupation he knew best. Grandma Hansen and my Dad had a very good relationship. She took care of the finances and he did the physical labor. He was a very hard worker and I never heard him complain about having to work too hard or being in pain from overwork.

If Dad had a weakness is that he was "patient to a fault." In other words, he was too patient with people and didn't fight for his rights like he should've done. His twin sister, Vera. said, " He was the most patient person I have ever known."

After courting (dating) my Mother by traveling over the Boulder Mountain he asked her to marry him. They were married in the Salt Lake L.D.S. Temple on 30 June 1938. Dad was thirty and Mother was twenty-five. They had to go to Salt Lake by themselves, because everyone was poor and couldn't afford to go.

Besides, the relatives had to stay to take care of the farm and post office. After they came back to Boulder, Dad's friends shivareed them. They took Mother and put her on top of the hay-stack, after dark. Then they took Dad to another place where he could not see Mother. After the friends had made the newlyweds rather nervous, they brought them together, had a delicious meal and gave them some lovely gifts.

My Dad, to me, was the most handsome father a daughter could ever have. When I was young I had dark auburn hair. People would ask my parents where I got my red hair. They would laugh and say, "From the milkman." Dad had red whiskers and milked cows, so they were right. I did get my red hair from the milkman.

He had a beautiful baritone voice. He sang in the church choir and was always singing as he worked. Mother and he often sang together at church parties.

Telling jokes was one of his favorite things to do. For example, when it started to thunder and lightning started to strike, Mother, Anna Lee, Paul and I would get frightened. Dad would say, "Don't worry, it's only the devil kissing his wife." Then when the thunder and lightning became very scarey, he would say, "Oh, the devil must be kissing his mother-in law." Then he would laugh. He always seemed happy and never swore or became angry.

There was only one time, when I was a teenager, that he took the broom to the back of my legs for some smart remark I must've made. When he hit me, and not very hard at that, I never cried because I knew I deserved the whacking with the broom.

When I asked him for advice, rather than lecture me, he would sit down with me and say, "Let's talk. What do you think you should do?" Usually, I could solve my own problem.

He was the water master in Boulder for a period of time. He taught himself a great deal about problems pertaining to irrigation. Because the Hansens live on the end of the canal, we were often short on water. This was due to people on the upper end of the Boulder Creek or canal stealing water when it was not their turn. Dad would say, "There would be no excitement in Boulder at all if it weren't for the water fights." Water was always a scarce commodity in all the towns in Southern Utah.

Things could get ugly at times over irrigation matters. The Bishop (Haws) and Sunday School President (Moosman) threatened to kill him when he was the water master. Dad never lost his testimony over the way he had been treated by those men whom he should've been able to trust the most. His life ended when he had a heart attack and struck his head on a cement head gate while tending water. The date was 19 September 1988. He was six weeks shy of his eighty-second birthday. Dad's bishop, Ivan Lyman called me to say that Vard Coombs, the bus driver, had found him dead in the ditch, on a Monday morning.

Bob and I met Paul at the Neal S. Magelby Mortuary. That was where we had the funeral. Only one person from Boulder came to the services. He also conducted. Now I know what the Savior meant when he said,"I was rejected by the people in my own city." 

My parents only took one vacation in their lifetime. When my brother, Paul, was about to get out of the Air Force in Hawaii, he sent them airplane tickets to fly to Hawaii to meet him. He arranged for his friend to fly them over all the islands. The folks stayed with Irene King, who was from Boulder, and remarried after her husband Clyde had died. They spent many hours reminiscing about their wonderful time in Hawaii. Dad bought a Hawaiian shirt and had his niece make him a pair of pink shorts. He had a picture in his new attire and had a lot of fun with it.

Dad didn't like deer hunting because he had to help Mr. Lyman off the mountain after he had been shot and killed. The deer would come down and feed in his pasture, but they couldn't be hunted until the fall after the hunters

purchased a hunting license. The students usually got two or three days out of school every October.

He was buried in the Richfield Cemetery on 23 September 1988 by our Mother, his parents, grandparents (Hansens and Larsens), two uncles and three brothers, Owen, Reed and Omer.

My parents were wonderful, hardworking, humble people who never had the opportunity to go to college. They taught us right from wrong, how to work and love the Lord. They were great examples to my sister, brother and me. They did the very best job they knew how of being good parents. I will be eternally grateful for their loving guidance.