Merlyn took his first breath in Heaven on March 20, 2019, surrounded by his loving family.
Born in a farmhouse in Dorchester, Wisconsin, on December 2, 1933, Merlyn was the son of Norwegian cheesemaker. As the youngest of six, his father passed away when he was only 4 years old. He was raised by his mother, and a combination of older siblings, aunts and uncles. Memories of Ontanogan, Michigan, Glidden and the Lund family farm, southeast of Shawano and Riverside School filled his childhood with adventure and practical education. He often shared that he was thankful to have grown up when he did.
After moving to Mendota, Illinois, as a young teen, and then to San Jose, Illinois, he was employed by the Hanson Dairy, his brother’s cheese factory. It was there that he met and married (Donnabel) Donna Houser, the love of his life, and together they forged a loving bond that would last for 67 years.
After moving to Neenah, Merlyn dedicated himself to Beloit Manhattan for 42 years. He and Donna raised three sons. They shared their love of the outdoors with their sons, by spending many hours fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and camping. They traveled to almost all of the states in the union, and established life-long friendships all along the way. Merlyn’s love of family and togetherness flowed to his grandchildren, who now share it with their children. After retiring, he and Donna spent many winters in the Arizona region, and then enjoyed babysitting their great-grandchildren in the summer months, as family was everything to Merlyn.
Merlyn is survived by his lifelong companion and wife, Donna; sons, Rick and Steve (Chris) Hanson; grandchildren, Emily (Ben) DeMoulin, Anna Hanson (fiancé Ben Geyer), Brad (Kelly) Kaster and Nick (Liz) Kaster; great-grandchildren, Hunter, Reid, Levi, Trevin, Hayli, Aliyah and one great-grandchild on the way.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Hulda and Carl Hanson; siblings; Floyd, Harlow, Irene, Isla and Virginia; and son, David.
A celebration of Merlyn’s life will be held on Friday, April 5, 2019, at Calvary Bible Church, 1450 Oakridge Road, Neenah. The visitation will be held at the church from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., with the service immediately following at 1:00 p.m. A luncheon will follow. Burial will be at the Jerusalem Lutheran Cemetery at Lunds when weather permits.
The family would like to give a heartfelt “thank you” to the ThedaCare (Theda Clark) ER, ICU, the doctors from Fox Valley Pulmonary Medicine, as well as Eric, Evan, Jess and other nurses and hospice team for their tender care of Merlyn over these past few weeks.
In lieu of flowers, donations would be greatly accepted by Jerusalem Lutheran Church, c/o Duane Olson, 309 Humphrey Circle, Shawano, WI 54166.