Bobby Lee Hansen

Bobby Lee Hansen was born Aug. 23, 1935, in Yuma at his aunt Mildred’s house. He was No. six out of 10. His parents were Alfred and Jennie (Aydelott) Hansen. 

          When the children were younger, they lived in a sod house until they moved a house in from Red Willow. Bob died at Hillcrest Care Center in Wray on Aug. 21, 2019, two days before his 84th birthday.

          While he helped his dad with the farming, they also milked dairy cows and had chickens. He delivered eggs to a restaurant in Yuma. After they moved the house to the farm, they had dances in the basement on Saturday nights. Bob played along with uncle Les and cousin Howard. On Sundays when the family got together, they had softball games.

          Bob broke horses while he was on the farm. He bought an Appaloosa for $50 at the sale barn; his name was Rowdy. There were very few people who could ride him except Bob. Bob and his sister Eunice would sneak out to go dancing in Abarr. Bob was always helping a neighbor with farming or whatever they needed. Bob graduated in 1954 from Lone Star School.

          Bob was drafted into the Army in 1957. He took basic in Fort Bliss, Texas. While he was there, he met Elvis Presley. Elvis worked just as hard as every soldier. Then he went to Fort Benning, Georgia, and after that he went to Seoul, South Korea, until 1959. He never came back home while he was in the service. He also spent some time in Tokyo. 

          He tried to get a job at Stapleton Airport as an air controller, but it didn’t work out so he went back to the farm to help his dad. He got married and had a son, Richard. Bob decided to move to Wray and bought a filling station, and his brother-in-law, Sonny Aegeson, worked with him, but it didn’t work so he moved back to the farm. He and his wife got a divorce. 

          At this time, besides farming, he worked for Hickman Truck Line in Yuma and for Yuma Livestock Sale Barn, where he weighed hogs and cattle. Bob got full custody of his son, Richard. Bob also did some auctioneering and helped with his uncle’s farm sale and did some at the sale barn in Yuma.

          In 1997, Bob met Terrie Muirheid, who had three children, and they started dating. One of the things they enjoyed doing while dating was going dancing. On April 23, 1977, they got married at Terrie’s folks’ place in Yuma. They didn’t go anywhere for a honeymoon; instead, they went dancing at the Legion. 

          Bob’s wife was a soulmate to him because she helped him with the farming and the cattle. Terrie also helped with wheat harvest by driving a Chevy truck. Bob also had a manure truck business; his brother-in-law Sonny Aagesen helped with it. Bob also baled hay for Don Seedorf and some other farmers. He also helped his brother Don with corn harvest, and his wife drove a truck.

          After his folks died, the farm was sold. They moved to Yuma and bought a place with some acreage on County Road 41. Bob started working for Curtis Franson for a while, but it didn’t work out for him so he started working for the co-op in Yuma, changing oil and tires and hauling fertilizer. Bob also worked for Bob Poitz Feedlot while they lived in Yuma. He finally got a good job with Smith Dairy helping build it and feeding the dairy cattle. Bob’s wife Terrie and their daughter Cindy started to feed the calves from Smith Dairy. 

          There were some corrals at their farm, so their son Mike and a friend bought some wild mustangs from Mexico to put in the corrals. There weren’t supposed to be any pregnant mares, but there were, so their granddaughter raised them on a bottle and kept them.

          In 1994, Bob got a really good job with Pete Blackburn between Otis and Sterling, with a house furnished. Pete farmed about 5,000 acres, which was mostly wheat and some millet. Pete had some pasture ground, so he rented it out to a man from Sterling. Bob’s wife helped with the farming by helping with planting the wheat. During wheat harvest, she drove the combine for Pete. Pete’s wife always brought them lunch and supper while they were harvesting. During the winter months, Bob would help Donny Nau with corn harvest by using Pete’s semi. This is when Bob started hauling Pete’s wheat into Otis. 

          Bob was the commander for the VFW post in Sterling for a year and was a lifetime member. He started going to church at the Baptist church, and he and Terrie became friends with a very special couple, Leonard and Pat Lambrecht. On April 23, 2002, Bob and Terrie celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with family and friends at the Baptist church in Sterling.

          When the Blackburns died, the family decided to sell the farm, so Bob had to look for another job, which took a long time. He got a job with Delbert Marquardt, an irrigation farmer. They bought a house with some acreage outside Amherst, which they really loved very much. 

          The job only lasted a year, but he quickly got a job with Gil Anderson swathing alfalfa for his business. Bob had an accident when he was going to work at Anderson Alfalfa and got hit by a semi. He just had black and blue bruises on his left side but was at Melissa Memorial Hospital for a couple days. Anderson Alfalfa went out of business, so Bob and Terrie sold their place in Amherst and moved to Holyoke. 

          They rented a place from Marilyn Miller. Bob worked for two different farmers, Mark Clayton and Teldon Bohlender. He enjoyed working for both of them. On Sunday mornings before church, they had breakfast with three different couples. On Nov. 1, 2009, they moved to SunSet View. Bob was still working, but he finally retired in 2010. Bob started having health problems and had to move to Hillcrest on Feb. 15, 2018.

          Bob was a very funny man and loved to tell about his growing-up days.

          He was preceded in death by his parents, Alfred and Jennie Hansen; father- and mother-in-law, Marcus and Beulah Muirheid; brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Johnnie Hansen; sister and brother-in-law, Verna Mae and Elmer Miller; sister-in-law, Sandy Muirheid; sister-in-law, Jean Hansen; and brother-in-law, Sonny Aagesen  and brother-in-law, Bing Schurman.

          He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Terrie; sons, Richard Alfred Hansen, Michael Kirk Hansen and Erik Wayne Hansen; daughter, Cindy and husband Rob Wilson; grandchildren, Brandie and Josh Austin of Oklahoma, Brandon and Destiny Wilson of Oklahoma, Chris Wilson of Oklahoma, Adam and B.C. Allison of Oklahoma, Cody and Katelin Wilson of Florida, and Shay and Chantel Hansen of Castle Rock; great-grandchildren, Drake Austin, Braden Wilson, Trenton Wilson, Jade Allison and Garrett Allison, all of Oklahoma; sisters, Lorna Frick of Greeley, Eunice and Ron Beechley of Lincoln, Nebraska, Beaulah Aagesen of Yuma, and Donna and Gary Pletcher of Greeley; brothers, LaVern of Yuma, Don and Sherrie of Yuma, and Max of Florida; many nephews and nieces; sister-in-law, Rozita Schurman and friend Don Struck of Yuma; sister-in-law, Sharon and Marvin Hasenauer of North Platte, Nebraska; and brother-in-law, Clayton Muirheid of Yuma.

          The memorial service was held Sept. 7 at First Baptist Church in Holyoke. Interment followed at Yuma Cemetery.

          Baucke Funeral Home directed the service.

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