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Obituaries

Grant O. Hansen | Naval officer, 92

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Grant Oscar Hansen, 92, of Chestnut Hill, an officer in the Navy for more than 20 years, died of pneumonia March 20 at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

The son of a railroad civil engineer, Mr. Hansen grew up along the route of the Great Northern Railroad. He graduated from high school in Seattle and studied electrical engineering at the University of Washington.

He married Donna June Grinnell in 1937 and they raised four daughters. She died in 1991.

Mr. Hansen enlisted in the Navy in 1938, was commissioned as an ensign, and saw combat in the Pacific during World War II. He was aboard the aircraft carrier Lexington at the time of its sinking at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, and the Hornet at the time it was sunk in the Battle of Santa Cruz later that year. He was captain of the destroyer Thompson and the supply ship Antares. He was in charge of naval communications forces in Tsingtao, China, when the mainland was overtaken by Mao Tse-Tung. He was stationed with Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, in 1951.

After being discharged in 1961, Mr. Hansen worked for Philco-Ford and later Orion Systems.

Mr. Hansen read for the blind on the radio, and recorded books and descriptions of movie visuals. He was on the board of the Chestnut Hill Community Association.

Mr. Hansen is survived by daughters Ann Knepp, Sarah Pearson, Martha Adams and Amanda Hansen; nine grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and a sister.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. today at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 630 Cathedral Rd. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Donations may be sent to Associated Services for the Blind-RICB, 919 Walnut St., Philadelphia 19107.