Adelaide (Addy) Ione Hanson, 92, of Grinnell, died peacefully on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at Mayflower Healthcare Center in Grinnell.

Addy was born February 19, 1931, to Alfred and Ingeborg Hovet Koppang in St. Paul, Minn. She grew up on the family farm in Portland, N.D. She attended a one-room schoolhouse and was the only student in her class from first to eighth grade. She attended high school in Mayville, N.D., and graduated in 1949. She attended St. Lukes Hospital School of Nursing in Fargo, N.D., and received her Registered Nurse degree in 1952.

While working at St. Lukes Hospital she met her late husband, Harold. When injured in a football game, Harold was hospitalized, and met Addy, who was his nurse. Addy and Harold were married on June 19, 1953, at Bruflat Lutheran Church in Portland, N.D.

The couple moved to Walhalla, N.D., where Harold had purchased a small grocery store. After four years they returned to Mayville to manage the Ben Franklin Store. A couple years later, they purchased an independent variety store in Chatfield, Minn. While there, Addy resumed her nursing career at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester.

In 1966, the Hanson family moved to Grinnell when they purchased the local Ben Franklin Store on Main Street. Addy joined her husband in the daily operation of the business for the next 25 years. Through these years, Addy and Harold raised three sons: Steve, Dave and Tom. After retirement in 1991, Addy and Harold could be found in the mornings with a sizable group of their Grinnell contemporaries on the 10th Avenue college tennis courts; the pair also loved golfing and were members of the Grinnell Country Club. They spent their winters in Sun Lakes, Ariz.

The Hanson family enjoyed summer fishing vacations in Minnesota and skiing trips to Colorado in the winter. Harold and Addy also traveled around the U.S., and were drawn to Norway, the country of their heritage. Addy has carried on the Norwegian culinary tradition of making lefse and krumkake. In addition to golf and tennis, Addy enjoyed playing piano, gardening, and keeping her bird feeders full. She was a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, Tri-T and the Sunset Club.

Addy is survived by her brother Clint Koppang of Portland, N.D.; her sons: Steve (Sharon) Hanson, of Longville, Minn., Dave (Kay) Hanson, of Manchester by the Sea, Mass., and Tom (Peg) Hanson of Stillwater, Minn.; five grandchildren: Kristen (Joe) Heinicke, Tate (Caroline) Hanson, Gabriel Hanson, Nate Hanson, Sam Hanson; three great-grandchildren: Addi and Livi Heinicke, and Calvin Harold Hanson. She was preceded in death by her parents, Alfred and Ingaborg, stepfather Ted, brother Lynn, and her husband, Harold.

A funeral service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, at St. John Lutheran Church in Grinnell, with interment at Hazelwood Cemetery. A luncheon will immediately follow the service at St. John Lutheran Church.

Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be directed to the Addy Hanson Memorial Fund and mailed in care of Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, IA 50112.