Kathleen Hansen

 When the spirit of Kathleen John Hansen took flight on December 30th, 2024, the earth grew quieter, yet the heavens sang. At 78 years of age, Kathleen departed this world peacefully, leaving behind a legacy as boundless as her love. She was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, beloved friend, and a guiding light to all who knew her.

 Born on April 16th, 1946, in Lompoc, California, Kathleen’s roots were quick to take hold in Kaysville, Utah, where her family settled after the birth of her younger sister, Marilynn. There, surrounded by family, strict piano tutelage, the lush but demanding gardens of her ancestors, Kathleen grew into a woman of deep purpose, hard work, and quiet strength. She found her husband, Dennis, at Weber State College, and together they embarked on a symphony of life, raising three children—Melody, Dustin, and Cadence (Cadee)—a trio of hearts to whom Kathleen gave her all.

 In 1978, after relocating to Ephraim, Utah, Kathleen’s life bloomed into a tapestry of art, music, and community. Her hands were never idle. She threaded sequins, pushed the boundaries of what was possible on a small college theater budget, and nurtured young minds in a costume room that became the beating heart of her family’s story. While steam hissed and sewing machines whirred, Kathleen checked her children’s homework while she wove pirate sashes, kingly robes, and tales of scoundrels and heroes into their lives, inspiring them to lead lives filled with imagination and laughter. Her fingerprints graced every production at Snow College from the late 70’s on, not only in the costumes she stitched and the music she directed, but in the students she inspired.

 In time, Kathleen found her life’s great passion as the director of Ascension, a show choir that became both her canvas and her calling. For over two decades, she poured her soul into hundreds of students, making each one feel uniquely cherished. It was through Ascension that her children found their voices, their lifelong friends, and their futures. But Kathleen’s influence stretched beyond her family, improving the lives of countless others who carry her lessons and laughter forward.

 Awards graced her name—the J. Elliot and Maxine Cameron Award for Service at Snow College, and an induction into the Snow College Music Hall of Fame—but Kathleen was never one to seek the spotlight. She lived for quiet triumphs: a student mastering a piece, a choir finding harmony, a child finding their passion. Her title, Accompanist, carried the deepest truth of her soul: she lived to lift others, to steady their rhythm, and to help them shine.

 Preceded in the hereafter by her husband Dennis, her daughters Melody and Cadee, her sister Marilynn, and an endless love that binds them all, Kathleen leaves behind a family that will forever sing her name. Her brothers Howard, Wayne, and Byron John; her youngest sister Vickie John Ashby; her son Dustin Hansen and his wife Jodi; her grandchildren—Tanner Hansen, Valkyrie Hansen, Malorie Grace Smith and her husband Parker Smith, Silvia Anne Hansen, Madisen and Colby Ellison, Britton and Tessa Whitaker; and her great-grandchildren Hayes Ellison and Dahson Ellison—each carry her memory forward.

 Kathleen’s life was a crescendo of kindness, a harmony of service, and an endless refrain of love. Her art, her passion to give, and music continue in the lives of those who will forever hear her song.

 Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 6, 2025 at 12:00 noon in the Ephraim 2nd Ward Chapel, 450 N 200 W. Viewing will be held prior to services from 10:00-11:30 a.m. Interment will be in the Ephraim Park Cemetery. Online guestbook at www.maglebymortuary.com. Funeral Directors: Magleby Mortuary, Richfield, Salina and Manti