Below are memories submitted by those who know and love Marty. Enjoy reading through them. If you make a mistake, and would like to correct it, please contact the webmaster for assistance.
Hide the bear
I had this 2 in tall bear that we would hide from each other. If the other didn't find it by the end of the day, the person would get to do something to them. It was Dads turn to hide it. I looked for it all day. I couldn't find it anywhere. It was getting dark and I still hadn't found it. I was in the sunroom when he came up behind me and started tickling me. I fell to the ground laughing. I opened my eyes and saw it on the very top of the exercise machine. He tickled me so bad I almost peed my pants.
I love you more
Me and my dad were always in an "I love you more" war. Not sure when it started exactly but its been years and years of us going back and forth of "I love you more, no I love you more!" We would try to be the first to say it to the other person so we could win for that day. We would sneak around corners in the morning and hide to try and sneak up on the other to be the first to say it and win that day. Our "I love you more" war evolved through the years to get more complex. With me moving out when I went to college our war moved to saying "I love you more" on the phone. When I would call home or my parents would call me the first thing that would be said on that phone call was of course "I love you more". If I went home to visit or my parents visited me, you could expect a paper trail. Little pieces of paper with "I love you more" written on them would be placed in my dads belongings by me or my things by him. One year for Christmas I even got M&Ms printed with "Jody loves Dad more" on them. Another time when my dad came to Utah to visit me, he taped an "I love you more" note to the ceiling right above my bed. Days later I was lying in bed and looked up. It put a huge smile on my face. Love you more Dad!
My Brother
Marty was a fantastic Brother. As we were growing up, I would often first run to Marty with a story or news before telling anyone else. I have great memories of him and have always looked up to him. One of the things I remember doing with him when we were kids was making marble tracks around the house. We would use the binding on books and toilet paper tubes and cut up boxes and create mazes throughout the house. Marty was also a trickster and I was an easy target. One time I remember going to see a show that my parents did not allow me to see (the Exorcist). Marty knew that I was going and when I returned he was hiding under my bed. With his hands and knees, he tried to raise the mattress. I remembered being so scared, I began to pray in bed. In Junior High and High School my mom use to make Marty help me with my math homework. I'm sure it must have been frustrating as Marty would usually say, "Please don't make me help her as she's so dumb". Thankfully he helped and got me to understand math.
I am very Thankful and Blessed to have Marty for a Brother. He is my Hero!
Bishop
Marty will always be special to me for many, many reasons, but one special event stands out. He called me to be the Primary President in our ward and those years were among the happiest and most rewarding years of service that I have ever had. It was because of Bishop Hanson that I was blessed with such an amazing opportunity to learn, grow and love. I will always treasure those years. Thank you, Marty. You will always be in my heart.
The Paper Boy
Marty would come by every morning to pick me up for morning seminary (I'm pretty sure that automatically qualifies him for sainthood). In the mornings I would stumble out of bed, throw on some clothes and brush my teeth before laying down on the couch to wait for the car o' Hansons to arrive. Too early to knock or ring the doorbell, Marty would let me know they were in the driveway by picking up that morning's newspaper off the sidewalk and chucking it at my front door. That "thud" became my alarm to get up off the couch and get going. One morning, I thought I would skip my early-morning couch nap and hide outside for Marty and jump out just in time to block his paper throw (Dikembe Mutombo style). Marty drove up, picked up the paper, and without skipping a beat, threw it right at me as hard as he could. I guess my hiding spot wasn't very good. I went back to my naps everyday after that. Something that I'll never forget about Marty during those morning car rides was how much joy for life he had at 5:45 am. " . . . men are, that they might have joy."
Uncle marty
As Marty was my only uncle who wasnt twice the size of me, he made me feel that short people are awesome too.
He would always get me to say or do something to one of my other uncles; one time he told me to say when I was very young "that dumb old uncle steve". He was in other room listening and lauhging at what I said and I will always remember that.
Honk!
Marti is one who was always present as part of the adult landscape of my early childhood and teenage years. I remember Marti, Judy and Jenni as early as my sunbeam years when I joined primary. As I got older, I saw them every Sunday file into their pew at church on the front right side of the chapel, the girls with their long hair braided. They were always there, and I took comfort in the familiarity of it. As the years passed, and my older brother, Spencer, became involved in scouts, I was able to see not only the time and care Marti took with his own kids, but the time and care he took with my own brother, particularly in helping him pass the swimming requirements for scouts. Marti really cared. There was never any feeling that the people in his life were taking up too much of his time or attention. He was kind, and always smiling.
There is one memory in particular which stands out:
My brother Spencer, cousin Kyle, and I were walking home from church. Marti and his family were also on their way home. As they were about to pass us in their van, Marti honked the horn. It startled me, and I must have jumped a mile into the air. Of course we all started laughing as we watched the van pass, and the laughing continued all the way home--not only for us, but for all the occupants of the Marti Hanson van.
First and Last
The first time I ever saw Marty Hanson was walking up to to the apartment we were moving in to in the Cherry Glen ward, pulling behind him a wheeled cart to help unload our U-Haul truck. He smiled, shook our hands and told us how glad he was to be there to help.
The last time I saw Marty Hanson he was getting out of his car to help Sis. Mosher in to church after giving her a ride to church which he did every Sunday for a very long time.
I think it is so telling about Marty that those were my first and last impressions of him. And between those two days were many days of kindness, generosity and service. He had a way of always making you feel cared for and like you were a good person. I think what I will miss most is all the times he would give our son Adam a high five, or chase him and play with him. And then he'd turn to me and say, "He's such a great kid." I'll miss it because there were days that I really needed to hear that and be reminded of that. Maybe the greatest gift he gave us is the reminder that we are all "great kids".
Lockheed Martin Space Systems (New employee 2008)
To all of Marty's family!
I would first like to say, I am so sorry for your loss of a Son, Uncle, Father, Grandfather and a truly a great friend to all. Six months after I started working at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in 2008 and me being an Electrical Engineer. I had a mechanical issue with my equipment. My manager at the time Steve Schick sent me to Marty for help. Marty was the first and only Mechanical Engineer at the time who was willing to help me. He was very knowledgeable, kind and always had a smile on his face which at the time I thought I had done something wrong. But that wasn't the case as he explained what needed to be done with a couple of rough sketches and I was on my way to success. I am no longer employed at Lockheed Martin Space System. But to this day I still remember that day in 2008 and that funny smile on his face.
//Ron Gilbert
rgilbert219@gmail.com
Bagman!
This is a long one guys, so I'll apologize ahead of time for the length.
I grew up in the Willow Glen Ward, which back in those days was quite often paired up with the Cherry Glen and Dry Creek wards; which was very often manifest in our young-men and young-women's programs. Marty Hanson was one of our Scoutmasters for a stretch. I really can't remember if he was the ever the Scoutmaster over the whole troop, or just the Assistant Scoutmaster over Cherry Glen's patrol. Either way, with Jay being an active Scouter, Marty was often involved in our camp-outs and activities regardless of his assignment in the ward.
One year (I want to say that it was 1995), our troop planned an awesome trip to San Francisco where we would spend a night camped out inside a demilitarized bunker at the Presidio (seriously, my childhood was pretty cool). Camp-outs typically went Friday evening to Saturday afternoon for us. As we arrived on Friday evening, there was a pretty typical spout of San Francisco light rain/fog. As we were unloading our gear from the vehicles and running around being adolescent boys, I had what has since been realized to be one of the greatest ideas of my young life. I got the awesome idea that if I put a head-hole and two arm-holes in a garbage bag, then Boom!, instant poncho! Of course, an idea of this magnitude just HAD to be tested out. Sure enough, I now had a relatively dry torso and a whole new fashion statement!
Inspired by the utter success of my stroke of genius, I entered a new state of awesomeness that really only those who are 13-year old boys can achieve. This awesomeness manifest itself as a young man running back and forth between the vehicles and the bunker, and stopping every chance I had an audience (read: often) to jump in the air and upon landing yell at the top of my lungs, "IT'S BAGMAN!!!!" I would sometimes change things up and place my hands on my hips in the most classic of superhero-style poses to shout "BAGMAN!!!" I can't tell you exactly how long this spectacle continued for; I can only tell you that I made enough trips back and forth so that everyone present had the opportunity to witness the awe and splendor that was The Bagman. Time rolls on, and I retired the garbage bag hero no less than 3 hours from his debut.
Fast Forward 12 years, and I'm an adult now; return missionary, productive member of society, all the works. I got myself married, and our apartment is in the Cherry Glen Ward. The current Bishop of the Cherry Glen Ward is non other than Marty Hanson. I don't recall if it was our first Sunday in the ward or at my Wedding Reception (same building), but I very distinctly remember getting a strong handshake, a big smile, and a shout of "It's Bagman!" You know that "Marty Hanson smile," the one that's 70% sincere joy and 30% mischief. In case you were wondering, that was not the last time Marty referred to me as Bagman, It seemed like every time he saw me, I got that Marty Hanson smile and my due recognition from my Bishop as the one and only Bagman.
So, that may seem like a silly little thing (probably because it really and truly was), but regardless of the triviality, what being called Bagman told me was: "Hey John, I appreciated who you were then, and I appreciate who you are now." I don't think that I have ever met a man so loving and sincere as Marty Hanson was. I am eternally grateful for the role that Marty and my other leaders had in helping me to become the man that I am today. He will be missed by many.
love for his family
Our most recent visit with Marty happened the day after Christmas when almost all of their family came to our house for scones. We had so much fun and remember Marty literally in the middle of it all, smiling, happy, relaxed, looking like being with his family was the most wonderful place in the world.
We appreciate how he unconditionally welcomed our son Peter into that special circle, and enjoy all of our glimpses into this special family. We are grateful that all of us have good memories to treasure.
Meeting Marty
I didn't know Marty well, but I do remember he always had a twinkle in his eye and a big smile whenever I saw him. He also had a great sense of humor, and would constantly keep us laughing with his jokes. We will miss him.