News About Pete Hansen

2/12/25. Rob Ideson alerted us to the news about Pete on February 15, writing in part, "I received a call from Pete Hansen’s wife, Marie Tapert, informing me Pete passed away on February 12, 2025 from complications of a stroke he had in June of 2022.”

Rob and Pete met as 1st graders at Mack school and remained lifelong friends. Mac Whitehouse sent us a priceless photo of him with Rob and Pete and some other elementary school pals, including Dave Swartz and Monty Okey, on their neighborhood baseball team. 

Pete had the kind of life others of us can only envy, as you will see from his obituary. Like his father and grandfather, he was a craftsman, and brought his creativity and craftsmanship to home design, custom furniture and art. Rob said he has some “fine, Danish mid-century style furniture Pete made to go with the originals”.

Pete’s obituary notes, “he grew up in a home where perfectionism in design and making was prized” and he carried that into his life’s work, for many years in his shop in Whitmore Lake. Loving your work and bringing beauty and high quality into others’ lives and your own, while continuing a family legacy and working alongside your spouse, also an artisan, must have made for a satisfying life.

Pete is well remembered by classmates. A star athlete, Pete was respected both on the basketball court and baseball diamond. Mike Wall wrote, “We played on the varsity basketball team where he was the captain our senior year. He led by example and was well liked and respected by the entire team.” Mike Keebler expanded on this, saying, “I remember his great smile and his gentle ways. His leadership on the basketball and baseball teams always seemed to be an ideal, almost TV-casted character. I loved looking up at him and feeling I was in great company when he was present. Barb Kendall Souza echoed this: “I always ‘looked up’ to Pete as a star on and off the court!!!!”.

As Mike Keebler said, “We have had a wonderful classmate leave us again.”  

You can view Pete's obituary here.

Pete Hansen

Pete Hansen, from the Ann Arbor News, 1963

Pete and the Mack Elementary neighborhood baseball team