Dorothy C. Hansen

Dorothy C. Hansen, a long time resident of Kirkland, Washington, died April 25, 2012, in Claremont, California where she moved in 2007 to be closer to her family. Born Dorothy Rose Carlisle on March 1, 1914, in Kettle Falls, Washington, to Fred Green Carlisle and Ellen Agnes Carlisle, Dorothy grew up on her family’s apple farm along the Columbia River where she worked long days with her family throughout childhood. During the Depression the government purchased the farm, condemned to be flooded by the Grand Coulee Dam.Dorothy was the salutatorian of her graduating class at Kettle Falls High School. In 1935, she married Ralph L. Hansen, a neighbor and friend she had known since birth. Their first child, Ralph Alan, was born in 1936. In the first years of their marriage she worked at various jobs to help support the family and to enable Ralph to return to college to prepare to be a teacher. Upon his graduation in 1940 from the University of Washington, they moved to Ryderwood, Washington where Ralph began teaching at Ryderwood High School and worked for the timber company. Their second child, Mary Ann, was born in 1942. In 1943, they moved to Clarkston, Washington where Ralph taught at Clarkston High School and worked in the Potlatch Lumber Mill in Lewiston, Idaho. Their third child, Dorothy Jean (Jeannie), was born in 1944. In 1947, the family moved to Kirkland, Washington where Ralph taught science and math at Kirkland High School (later named Lake Washington High School) until his retirement in 1969. Ralph died in 1975.After taking bookkeeping and typing classes, Dorothy began work in 1950 at the Kirkland Bank, the only bank in Kirkland at the time. She continued to work at the bank under its successive owners and name changes until she retired from the Bank of America in 1979. She was a member of the Eastside Business and Professional Women in which she continued to participate after retirement. She was also, after retirement, an active member of the Bellevue-Yao City Sister City Program, travelling to Japan and hosting Japanese friends in her home. After retirement she also travelled extensively in Asia, Europe and the United States, attending many Elderhostels which she loved. Dorothy spent a long life in service to others. She was actively involved and devoted to the work of the Rose Hill Presbyterian Church in Kirkland, serving as an elder, Sunday school teacher and in many other roles. She drove people to doctor appointments, ran errands and cooked meals for shut-ins, and sat long hours at the bedside of those who were ill. For more than twenty years, she served weekly as a volunteer at Group Health Hospital in Bellevue.Dorothy was predeceased by her parents and her siblings, Marguerite Smith, Loren Carlisle, and Marie Moles; by her husband Ralph; and by her son Alan. She is survived by her sister Betty Abbott of Reno, Nevada; daughters Mary Ann Hansen (husband Rudy Larsen) of Glenn, CA and Jeannie Samuels (husband Don Samuels) of Diamond Bar, CA; grandsons Philip Jolley of Burlingame, CA, Dean Samuels of Diamond Bar, CA, and granddaughter Julie Salaz (husband Jack) of Hesperia, CA; great grandchildren Nicole and Ryan Samuels and Jenna and Joel Salaz; and eight nephews and nieces.A memorial service will be held at the Rose Hill Presbyterian Church in Kirkland on June 27 at 3pm.

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