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Auditorium Benefactor Passes Away Posted 23 June 2008 Erling Hanson, beloved local band director and benefactor of the arts, passed away Friday, June 20, following a brief illness, at the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester. He was 93. Funeral Services for Hanson will be held this morning, Monday, June 23, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Manchester. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery. Hanson served five school districts as music director for a total of 43 years, 33 of them at the West Delaware District. Hanson and his wife, Dorothy, were married 67 years. The former Dorothy Smull and Erling Hanson were married May 25, 1941, in Earlham, Iowa, where they were both teaching. In 1946, the couple moved to Manchester, where they both retired from teaching in 1979. Besides the many school musical groups and individuals whom he taught, Hanson was active with community musical groups. He directed the First Lutheran Church choir for 31 years, Delaware Community Choral Society, Delaware County Farm Bureau Chorus, and singalongs at Rotary Club. A leader in the organizations of which he was a member, Hanson served as the first president of the Manchester Faculty Club, president of the Manchester Rotary Club, president of the Northeast Iowa Band Directors' Association, state chair of the National American School Band Directors, and vice-president and secretary-treasurer of the Iowa Band Masters' Association. He received national recognition in the School Musician magazine, the Karl King Distinguished Service Award, and the local Chamber of Commerce plaque in 1962. He was a member of First Lutheran Church, Masonic Lodge, and the National Music Fraternity PhiMuEpsilon. Through their generosity, the Hansons recently donated funds for West Delaware's new auditorium, which now bears their name - Hanson Auditorium. The gift to the community is one which will benefit all for years to come. Erling is survived by his wife of 67 years, Dorothy Hanson of Manchester; two brothers, Ellsworth (Evelyn) Hanson of Tucson, Ariz., and Arne (Ramona) Hanson of Ruthven, Iowa; several nieces and nephews; and many friends and former students. Erling was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Elsie Hanson; and one brother, Carl Herbert Hanson. Please sign the online guest book for Erling at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.

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