Dorchester Times: Dorchester's Wayne Hansen Passes At Age 86; Services Monday

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Dorchester's Wayne Hansen Passes At Age 86; Services Monday

Wayne M. Hansen, 86, died September 8, 2017. Wayne was born November 20, 1930 to Ted and
Maude Hansen in rural Webster County. He was educated at Rural School District 62 near Red Cloud, Nebraska. During his youth, Wayne became active in 4-H and began raising turkeys. It was during this time he earned his nickname Turk. He attended high school at Red Cloud where he was active in F.F.A. He graduated as salutatorian in 1948. To pursue his love of farming Wayne attended college at the University of Nebraska. He was a fraternity member of Alpha Gamma Rho while he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in agriculture in 1952. It was while he was at UNL he met Velma Stehlik.

Wayne served in the Army from 1952-1954. Most of his duty was in Germany where he conducted various meteorology tests. He and his army buddies spent many weekends traveling through Europe. Following his time in service, Wayne returned to UNL and served as a graduate assistant.

Wayne and Velma were married July 25, 1954 and resided in Lincoln where Wayne was a graduate assistant in the agronomy college at UNL. Soon the couple moved to Dorchester where Wayne began his farming operation and raised cattle. Wayne and Velma raised four children. The young couple was named as the Grange Farm Family of the Year in 1958. Wayne truly loved farming but always made time for travel. At the end of each summer a family vacation was taken. He and Velma also enjoyed countless trips in their retirement. Highlights of their travels were an Alaskan cruise and a trip to Europe.

Christian faith was important to Wayne so he was an active member of the United Methodist Church in Dorchester where he served on many levels. Wayne was also active in his community serving with many organizations: Grange, Farm Bureau (local, county and state levels), Exeter Feeders and Breeders, and the American Legion. His love of education continued throughout his life. He pursued additional education by taking classes at Milford Tech. Wayne also served on the Dorchester School Board for 12 years. He was on the board of directors for Production Credit Association and for Southeast Community College at Beatrice. Wayne was a member and served as president for the Upper Big Blue NRD. Hansen also served on the Saline County Zoning board. Wayne was bestowed the honor of being Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska; Nebraska's highest honorary title by approval of former Governor James Exon.

Wayne is survived by his beloved wife, Velma, three daughters Amy of Dorchester, Brenda (Jeff) Raymond of Seward and Marla (Mike) Weber of Friend and son Matt (Donna) Hansen of Dorchester, nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, sister Mae Koch of Spencer, Iowa, brother Phil (Marlene) Hansen of Red Cloud and sister Phyllis (Rocky) Vasquez of Seward, nieces, nephews, and many friends. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother Elton and brother-in-law Richard Koch.

Special thanks go to the devoted, caring staff at Tabitha in Crete.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 on Monday, September 11,2017 at the Dorchester United Methodist Church with Rev. Dr. Paixao Baptista officiating. Visitation with family greeting friends on Sunday from 5-7 PM at Kuncl Funeral Home in Crete. Interment will be at Dorchester Cemetery. Memorial gifts in his memory can be made to the United Methodist Church or the Dorchester Community Foundation. Condolences may be left at kunclfh.com.

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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."