CHARLESTON, WV, Nov. 23, 2007—Col. Robert W. Hansen (U.S. Air Force, retired), a retired surgeon, passed away Thursday, November 22, 2007, at the Marmet Nursing & Rehabilation Center in Charleston. He was 83.
Dr. Hansen was certified by the American College of Surgeons. He had practiced in Detroit , MI; Rapid City , SD; Missoula , MT; and Welch, WV, before he joined the U.S. Air Force full-time in 1978. In the Air Force, he served at Dover AFB in Dover, DE, and at Wurtsmith AFB near Oscoda , MI, before retiring in 1986. After retirement, he lived in Elizabeth City, NC, until October 2003. Since then, he had resided at the Marmet Nursing home in Marmet, WV, near Charleston.
Dr. Hansen was born in Marenisco, MI, to Marco and Ruth (White) Hansen on July 16, 1924. He grew up in Greenville, MI, and attended the University of Michigan . He graduated from medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago.
While in medical school, Dr. Hansen married Dorothy Dahlstrom in December 1946. They remained married until Dorothy Hansen passed away in November 2002.
During the Korean War, Dr. Hansen was a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve and served aboard ship. Following his naval service, Dr. Hansen continued his medical education in Detroit.
Dr. Hansen was an avid hunter, musician, fly fisherman, and was an instrument-rated private pilot.
Survivors include five sons, R. Thomas (Raenel) of Charleston; Steven (Pat) of Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Carl (Lisa) of Fayetteville, WV; George of High Bridge, NJ; and John (Laura) of Hazard, KY; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
The family will have a private memorial in Greenville, MI with burial in Forest Home Cemetery, Greenville.
