Tony Hanson

Anton Martinius Hanson (Tony) was born in Travers, Alberta on April 23, 1923 to Anton and Agnes Hanson. His parents were dedicated to the Lord and were committed to raising their 7 children in a God fearing home. At the age of 18, Tony attended Prairie Bible Institute with the intent to serve God overseas, however, health concerns prevented this from being possible. While at Prairie, Tony’s focus moved from missions to pastoral and thankfully he found a perfect helpmate in Esther Johnson to make that a reality. On July 30, 1945 Tony and Esther were married and 2 months later arrived in Bow Island, Alberta where they began their first church ministry. While in Bow Island, their 6 children – Selmer, Ruth, Gerald, Sharon, Joyce and Sheila were born. In January, 1961 joy was replaced by sorrow when God saw fit to call 9 year old Gerry home to heaven after a battle with asthma. Through this time Tony and Esther had so many opportunities to minister to others, even as they were grieving. In 1963 the family moved west to BC to pastor the New Westminster Evangelical Free Church. Here Allan was born. After 9 years of fruitful ministry the Hanson family headed back to the Prairies to take on the congregation of First Evangelical Free Church in Calgary where they continued to serve for 9 years. In 1981 Tony’s failing health required the couple to make a change to the smaller congregation in Sorrento, BC. Even though he was only a few short months to retirement, Tony was not ready to quit, so they moved to Three Hills in 1985, where he became District Superintendent for the EFC Prairie District and then finished off his formal ministry as Pastor to the Seniors at Mount Olive EFC. In 2003, after a brief illness, the love of Tony’s life – Esther – was ushered into the presence of Jesus. The 56 years that they spent working side by side was sadly over, but even in deep grief and great loss, he found ways to continue to minister to others as he moved into the Golden Hills Lodge for 8 years. Joyce and Glenn opened their hearts and home in 2011 when Tony moved to Sherwood Park and most recently into the Sherwood Park Care Centre. After numerous years of health challenges, Tony experienced ultimate healing as Jesus lovingly carried him to his eternal home in the early hours of December 11. Thankful to share in the life of this remarkable man of God are Tony’s six children: Selmer (Sharon) of Edmonton; Ruth (Dan) Goertz of Lac La Hache, BC; Sharon (Waine) Neufeld of Williams Lake, BC; Joyce (Glenn) Steeves of Sherwood Park; Sheila (Dan) Adkins of Three Hills; and Allan (Linda) of Cold Lake; his seventeen grandchildren and thirty-one great-grandchildren; three sisters: Edith (Eddie) Theriau; Evelyn Geddart; and Vivian (Ingmar) Jacobsen – all of Lethbridge. He has now been reunited with his dear wife, Esther; son, Gerald; grandson, Gerry; parents, Anton & Agnes; two sisters, Pearl Thomsen and Marie Ruggles; and one brother, Bernard Hanson. A memorial service will be held at Mount Olive Evangelical Free Church on Wednesday, December 16 at 1 pm. Gifts of remembrance may be made to Samaritan’s Purse, The Evangelical Free Church of Canada, or Southern Alberta Bible Camp. Kneehill Funeral Services Ltd. entrusted with arrangements