Obituary for George William Hanson
George W. Hanson, 93, of Hopewell Junction, NY, died in his home on May 1, 2020. He is survived by his son, George Eric Hanson and daughter-in-law, Danielle, of Hopewell Junction, step-daughter, Cindy MacMillan, of Chadds Ford, PA, and her two children, Ronald and Kenneth Mazik. He is also survived by his cousins, the Wenzel family of Rye, New York, his close friend and companion Alice Hall of Franklin, NY, and scores of sailing colleagues, band mates, friends, and students he taught throughout the years. He was predeceased by his wife, Elisabeth Hanson, and his former wife, Esther Ann Wiley.
George was born in Port Chester, NY, the son of Hilma and Arthur Hanson, Finnish and Swedish immigrants to the United States, and grew up in the towns of Katonah, NY, and Valhalla, NY. He graduated from White Plains High School in New York in 1944.
A World War II veteran, George served in the U.S Navy, from 1944 - 1946. He was stationed in the South Pacific as a radioman, where he transcribed coded messages received in Morse Code.
Courtesy of the G.I. bill, he attended Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, PA for two years, from 1946 to 1948, before transferring to Columbia University in New York. He graduated from Columbia in 1950, with a degree in history. An avid football fan, he assiduously followed the Columbia Lions for the rest of his life.
From 1952 to 1977, George was a teacher at Rye Country Day School, in Rye, NY. He taught English and History and became the History Department Chair in 1964. In addition to teaching classes, he also coached the soccer and ice hockey teams. A clarinet and saxophone player, he taught music, including wind ensembles, and ran the private music lesson program. George also taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies Program in New Jersey, the Wappingers Central School District in New York, and the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT.
Many of George's greatest accomplishments were in the world of competitive sailboat racing. As a young boy, he learned to sail from his father on a Beetle Cat and took to it naturally. He eventually gravitated to racing in the Star Class fleet of Western Long Island Sound as a young man. In 1956, he bought his beloved Herreshoff S Boat, Phoenix, and became a member of Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club in Larchmont, NY. George liked to joke that he and Phoenix were born in the same year and at 94 years of age, she remains in the family and still races competitively in the Herreshoff S Class of Western Long Island Sound fleet. He won an untold amount of races and championships and led the S Boat fleet for many years. He was inducted into the Herreshoff Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in June 2011.
Music was also a constant in George's life. As a teenager he formed a jazz band with his high school buddies, dubbing themselves The Hot Five ... they remained friends throughout their lives. He played with many other musicians, amateurs and pros alike. In 1988 he joined The Big Band Sound, a 20 piece jazz orchestra based out of Poughkeepsie, NY, that recreates music from the big band era, including Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. George played the alto sax and performed with the band at numerous venues throughout the twenty plus years that he was with them.
A devoted and patient teacher, George's red thread throughout his life was to help others excel on their own. He was generous and giving with his many talents and had a tremendous impact on those he mentored. His wit was renowned and always hinted at his inner thoughts ... indeed, he used it to educate, levitate, and inspire an interest in History.
A memorial service will be scheduled once gathering restrictions are lifted so we can all join together to remember George's life and his many achievements and contributions. In the interim, donations can be made in his memory to the Jane Goodall Institute (www.janegoodall.org), the ASPCA (www.aspca.org), or the Public Broadcasting Service (www.pbs.org).
For more information, please visit www.sclass.org and www.thebigbandsound.com.
George was born in Port Chester, NY, the son of Hilma and Arthur Hanson, Finnish and Swedish immigrants to the United States, and grew up in the towns of Katonah, NY, and Valhalla, NY. He graduated from White Plains High School in New York in 1944.
A World War II veteran, George served in the U.S Navy, from 1944 - 1946. He was stationed in the South Pacific as a radioman, where he transcribed coded messages received in Morse Code.
Courtesy of the G.I. bill, he attended Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, PA for two years, from 1946 to 1948, before transferring to Columbia University in New York. He graduated from Columbia in 1950, with a degree in history. An avid football fan, he assiduously followed the Columbia Lions for the rest of his life.
From 1952 to 1977, George was a teacher at Rye Country Day School, in Rye, NY. He taught English and History and became the History Department Chair in 1964. In addition to teaching classes, he also coached the soccer and ice hockey teams. A clarinet and saxophone player, he taught music, including wind ensembles, and ran the private music lesson program. George also taught at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies Program in New Jersey, the Wappingers Central School District in New York, and the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT.
Many of George's greatest accomplishments were in the world of competitive sailboat racing. As a young boy, he learned to sail from his father on a Beetle Cat and took to it naturally. He eventually gravitated to racing in the Star Class fleet of Western Long Island Sound as a young man. In 1956, he bought his beloved Herreshoff S Boat, Phoenix, and became a member of Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club in Larchmont, NY. George liked to joke that he and Phoenix were born in the same year and at 94 years of age, she remains in the family and still races competitively in the Herreshoff S Class of Western Long Island Sound fleet. He won an untold amount of races and championships and led the S Boat fleet for many years. He was inducted into the Herreshoff Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in June 2011.
Music was also a constant in George's life. As a teenager he formed a jazz band with his high school buddies, dubbing themselves The Hot Five ... they remained friends throughout their lives. He played with many other musicians, amateurs and pros alike. In 1988 he joined The Big Band Sound, a 20 piece jazz orchestra based out of Poughkeepsie, NY, that recreates music from the big band era, including Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. George played the alto sax and performed with the band at numerous venues throughout the twenty plus years that he was with them.
A devoted and patient teacher, George's red thread throughout his life was to help others excel on their own. He was generous and giving with his many talents and had a tremendous impact on those he mentored. His wit was renowned and always hinted at his inner thoughts ... indeed, he used it to educate, levitate, and inspire an interest in History.
A memorial service will be scheduled once gathering restrictions are lifted so we can all join together to remember George's life and his many achievements and contributions. In the interim, donations can be made in his memory to the Jane Goodall Institute (www.janegoodall.org), the ASPCA (www.aspca.org), or the Public Broadcasting Service (www.pbs.org).
For more information, please visit www.sclass.org and www.thebigbandsound.com.