Steve Hanson

Steve Hanson was born December 10, 1959 to parents Ervin and Barbara Hanson. He passed from this life on September 15, 2020. He is survived by Karen and Milo of the home, his brother Mike and niece Ariel of Seminole, his cousins David Hanson and family, Greg Callen and his aunts Bernice Beckley and Millie Calhoun. He was predeceased by his grandparents Lee and Maxine Byers, Robert and Dorothy White, Emil and Emily Hanson and his uncle Dean Hanson.

Steve met Karen when they both worked at MidFirst Bank and they were married April 9, 1994 at the Medieval Fair in Norman. On August 8, 1998 they welcomed Milo into their world. They celebrated their 26th anniversary this year.

Steve enjoyed life. As a kid, he got to enjoy life in California spending time at the beach, then the family made the decision to move to Seminole for his dad’s new job. During the move from California, he got to spend time with his dad driving to Seminole. He always said that was a great trip, stopping at different spots to check something out and learning something new and long conversations with his dad. He went to Seminole public schools and was a member of the football team when they wone the 1977 state championship.

He was in the National Guard while still in high school and then while attending East Central University. He then joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Babbenhausen Germany serving in Field Artillery and Chemical Defense Operations. He learned to speak German and would take every opportunity to travel the country. He would take the buses and trains and practice his German with fellow travelers. He said he had many interesting conversations ranging from suggestions for places that he should go and see (as an artist, he wanted so see as many of the palaces as he could), places to get the best food, life in general and politics. Other times when friends had access to a car, they would go visit the beaches, the local restaurants/bars and bakeries (he always said you learned to speak any language better while talking with the locals). One Thanksgiving he went off base to eat and the only place he found open was a Turkish restaurant. There was no one there except the owner who said he didn’t know why he wasn’t having his usual customers from the base (Steve explained the holiday). He said he spent most of the day just talking to this man about everything they could come up with, eating and toasting the day with ouzo.

As you can tell, Steve loved to talk and that he never met a stranger. Anytime he would meet someone new, they would start talking and within minutes would find someone or something in common and would talk for a few minutes or an hour or…

After his service, he taught High School Art in Frederick, OK. He then worked at MidFirst Bank, AOL, Cox Communications and Dell Computers. He decided he wanted to go back to teaching (but not in OKC). He taught in Hugo and then in Commerce, OK. He always joked that the next job would be in the panhandle so that he could say he taught in all 4 corners of the state.

Steve started playing D&D games while in high school and that continued the rest of his life. He rose up through the ranks of RPGA (Role Playing Game Association) to the rank of Grandmaster, many players will remember him as The Overgrown Kender. He would find many new games to run and play with friends at our home or theirs, at conventions, at the Games HQ shop in OKC and online. Because of Covid 19, he was running and playing these games online with Milo (in the next room) with friends in Oklahoma and in multiple states so that they could still get together and keep in touch.

A memorial service for Steve was held September 17, 2020 at the First United Methodist Church in Seminole.