Obituary of Flora E. Hansen

Flora Evelyn Hansen Johnson, New York With great sadness, the family of Flora Evelyn Hansen announces her passing on May 25,2021 at Valley View Center in Goshen, NY. Daughter of the late George and Irene Klinefelter Spatz, she was born February 21, 1924 in Poughkeepsie, NY. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Harold A. Hansen, sisters Dorothy Gleason and Betty Smith, brothers George, Robert, Victor and Thomas Spatz, brother-in law Carl Hansen and sisters-in-law Vera and Doris Hansen. She is survived by her children, Thomas Hansen (Karen), and Kathleen Sawyer (Raymond), all of Johnson, NY, her sister Janette James of Arizona, brother-in-law Laurence Hansen of Westtown, and many nieces, nephews and their children. Flora was raised in Mount Hope, NY and Nutley, NJ. From her earliest years she had an affinity for animals and nature and knew she wanted to live and work on a farm. After graduating from high school in Nutley, she worked at DuMont Laboratories in NJ, testing radar tubes as part of the war effort. After the war, she returned to Orange County, NY, where she met the love of her life. Flora and Harold were married in 1950 at the Ridgebury Methodist Church and made their home in Johnson, where they raised their family and worked side by side on their dairy farm. Flora will be remembered as a devoted wife, loving mother, seemingly tireless, hardworking and energetic homemaker, farmer, and gardener. She was involved in Boy Scouts and taught Sunday School when her children were young. True to her name, she could make any flower bloom and her garden harvests were always abundant and preserved for the long days of winter. Her blackcap jam was always a welcome and delicious gift. She was a steward of the earth, recycling and using resources wisely, never wasting, long before it was popular to do so. If a friend or neighbor needed help, she was generous with her time, resources and knowledge. She was also a great friend of all animals, from the "kittens" she befriended as a child, which turned out to be baby skunks, to the cows on the farm, all of which had names, to her dogs, cats and her horse, Beauty. After retiring from farming and with more leisure time, she drew and painted and did handwork and crafts; her hands were never idle. Flora was fiercely independent and believed in self-sufficiency. Well into her 70s, she took a shovel to the rabid racoon on her porch (probably the only creature to whom she ever showed any malice). Her fortitude, along with many wonderful memories, will sustain and inspire us in the days to come. Visitation hours will be held on Saturday May 29, 2021 from 11:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. at the Ralston-Lippincott-Hasbrouck-Ingrassia Funeral Home, Inc. 72 West Main St. Middletown, N.Y. A Graveside Service will be conducted at 1 P.M. at Pine Hill Cemetery 3470 US 6 Middletown, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, donations in Flora's memory may be made to Pets Alive, 363 Derby Rd., Middletown, NY 10940. Arrangements by Ralston-Lippincott-Hasbrouck-Ingrassia Funeral Home, Inc. 343-6023 or www.ocfuneralhomes.com