Obituary of Gladys O. Hansen

Gladys Otalie (Austenberg) Hansen passed away peacefully on February 15, 2025 at the age of 92. Beloved wife of Knud "Mac" Hansen, Jr. for 73 years; Beloved mother to Knud "KL" Hansen, III (Patricia) of Vestal, NY and Melinda Hansen of Shokan, NY; Beloved "Far Mor" to Kristin (Sam) Erdheim of Derwood, MD and their children, Maeryn, Asher, Kellan and Ayla; Knud (Jackie) Hansen, IV of Chesapeake, VA and their children, Ady, Cooper and Pheona; Karinne (Jeff) Hansen of Arlington, MA and their children, Sage, Jamie and Cooper; and Karissa (Rishi) Gokarn of Roslindale, MA and their children, Raina, Kiran and Kaia. Beloved Aunt Gladys and cousin to many, especially her lifelong best friend, Nora Haaland. She was predeceased by her brother, Kenneth, and her daughter, Barbara Jean. She was born on March 30, 1932 in the Norwegian section of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Peter & Gurie Austenberg. When she was 13, she began attending Sunset Park Norwegian American Church where she would meet her future husband in the MYF Youth Group there. Gladys and Knud married on February 2, 1952 and moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island where they would live for 40 years. After receiving her Associates degree, she worked as a secretary at Fach, Sipp and Hall and eventually became VP of Human Resources at Staten Island Savings Bank. Church, faith and music have always been a very important part of her life. She was a very active member of Woodrow United Methodist Church where she was a Sunday school teacher, helped lead the youth group, directed the youth choir and sang in the choir. She and Knud spent decades volunteering at United Methodist Camps - 3 years at Sessions Woods and over 40 years at Kingswood where they worked, managed and developed many friendships and a love of the great outdoors. After retiring, they moved up to Shokan, NY. They took annual vacations with their travel group and traveled the world visiting cousins and friends, including numerous trips to Norway. Bethany Beach was a favorite summer destination for the immediate Hansen family - days at the beach and nights playing dice, dominoes and sharing boxes of wine. Gladys will always be remembered for her loving heart and welcoming nature. She was a take-charge woman, known for her planning, organizational skills and feisty spirit. In honor of her memory, donations may be made to Kingswood Campsite, 1500 Hathaway Pond Road, Hancock, NY 13783 (https://kingswoodcampsite.org/donate/). A celebration of life will be held at Central United Methodist Church, 17 Nanticoke Avenue, Endicott, NY on March 29 at 1 PM.