Ann Russell Hanson

Ann Russell Hanson, 97, of Fond du Lac, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 17, 2011, at St. Agnes Hospital.She was born on May 23, 1914, in Appleton, the daughter of Benjamin and Margaret Winslow Russell.Ann spent the first 11 years of her life in the small prairie town of Hamill, South Dakota, where her father was a banker. She grew up in Appleton after the family moved back in 1925, and she attended public schools there. From the time she was a small child, she liked to draw and was very interested in plants. These two passions stayed with her all her life.After graduating from Lawrence College with an art degree, she attended the New York Art Students League. Then she went on to study at the National Academy of Design in New York, where she won the Suydan Silver Medal for portrait painting. After working for a year in Chicago as a freelance illustrator, she married Fred Hanson on May 4, 1941. They made their first home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, where Fred was teaching.The couple spent the war years in Newport, Rhode Island, and Waukegan, Illinois, where Fred was stationed in the Navy. In 1945, Fred took a job teaching and coaching at the high school in Fond du Lac, and the family, which now included two children, moved to an old farm near the city. Two more children were born in Fond du Lac, and it is on that farm that the four Hanson children grew up.Ann’s passion for art and plants combined as she gradually created the gardens and landscapes that surrounded the family home. Many summers were spent working with her husband, Fred, on renovation projects on their old farmhouse. But there was always time for a day trip, or a longer camping trip, when work was done, to their cherished place on the bluffs at Gills Rock, Wisconsin. One of the fondest memories her children have is of the many times the family trips would be interrupted by the need to stop and look at some interesting plant beside the road. She always had a sense of adventure and was the driving force behind many family “expeditions”.Over the years, as her children grew, she began painting again and then doing landscape design for other people. There are many gardens, and some parks, in the Fond du Lac area, that bear her touch. She lived a full, interesting life, and often commented on how wonderful her family and friends were. She had the ability to see something of interest and beauty in her surroundings, even after she could no longer go outdoors to tend her gardens. Her mind was sharp and her interest in politics keen, up until the end. She was active in the League of Women Voters for many years. Ann will be greatly missed by her children, nieces and nephews, and all the friends she held dear for so many years. She is survived by her four children: Bruce V. (Kveta) Hanson of Stanton, Nebraska, and their daughter, Myra (Bill) Knapp and children of Linden, Iowa; Carol H. (Richard) Pollnac of Saunderstown, Rhode Island, and their children: Kathryn Pollnac (Caitlin Kiernan) of Providence, Rhode Island, Stephanie Pollnac (Peter Waisnor) and their child of Brooklyn, New York, and Fredric Pollnac (Melany Cheeseman) of Bozeman, Montana; Roger S. (Lisa) Hanson of Green Bay, and her son Christopher; and Sally W. Larson of Fond du Lac, and her children: Benjamin (Jessica) Larson, and Elizabeth (Nathan) Ahlborn of North Fond du Lac, and his son Ripley.Preceding her in death were her parents; her brothers, Roger and Carson Russell; and her beloved husband, Fred Hanson.No formal services are planned.

Ann Russell Hanson

May 23, 1914 - November 17, 2011