By Her Grandson, Dennis 

I have wanted to include a tribute or my own mom, along with the others here, but have felt overwhelmed at the thought. Anything that I can say is very insignificant. The beauty that was hers and the love I feel for her far exceed my language skills. I find myself at a loss to express either her beauty or my love for her through the medium of language, but I will make a crude attempt. Her life stands as a testament of her goodness and nothing I or anyone else has to say is as important or beautiful as that itself. 

I have thought for several weeks about what it was that made her so special to me and others. I would like to share with you a few qualities that I think were so much a part of her. 

In this life she was always a giver. It says in the book “The Prophet”: 

“You give little when you give of your possessions. 

  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. 

  And there are those who have little and give it all. 

  These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, 

  and their coffers are never empty.” 

Nothing I could ever say about her would be more true than she gave of herself, and she had so much to give. And with worldly possessions she had little but she gave it all. Her life was full of giving and giving all she had, and often at great personal sacrifice. 

She had tremendous capacity for love and compassion, far beyond normal limits. Of her love she always gave freely.  

My father once called her a “Diamond in the Rough.” It was a beautiful description of her. In worldly qualities of sophistication, pride, etc, she was rough but it was in the divine or spiritual qualities like love, compassion, and unselfishness that she was a sparkling jewel.  Unfortunately there were those whose vision was clouded by their own worldliness, even in her own family, and they never really saw how much of a jewel she really was. I have always been deeply touched by the feelings that some of my cousins (her grandchildren) have shared with me about how they felt about her. They have shown so much love and reverence in the expression of their feelings. I think it was and is because their vision was clear and they saw so much of the jewel in her. 

When I read her blessing, I was amazed at how much her life was a fulfillment of that blessing. It tells her that she is especially adapted to the youth of Israel and that she would do a work pleasing to her Father in Heaven. That she will give the faith and hope necessary for the youth that will enable them to keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father. Also she will become a savior to the children of men and add jewels to a crown of glory. 

Her example and life have given me the faith and courage many times to strive toward the good and noble. A thought from the poem “My Mother” puts it so well: 

Those jewels Mother gave me, and she lived her life so well 

That over my life Mother cast a subtle, lovely spell. 

And now when’er I long to have inspiring thoughts to grasp, 

The jewels that were Mother’s deep within my heart I clasp. 

In closing, I would like to quote her blessing, “and generations yet unborn will praise their Heavenly Father for the labors and works of such a worthy mother in Israel.” I want to share with you that I do praise my Heavenly Father for the labors and works of that most worthy mother in Israel. There is nothing more in my life that I have to be thankful for than for Mary Ann Nicholas Hansen. Soon I plan to be married to a most wonderful person, who I deeply love, and this brings me great joy. And again I praise my Heavenly Father for her works for she helped to make it all possible. A year ago on her death bed, she poured out her heart to me about her love for me and her hopes. She also shared with me some of the things she truly believed in and what had brought the most happiness to her in this life. She also asked me to make certain promises to her. It was one of the most precious events of my life. It is because of what she had to say and the promises I made to her that I am able to make this most solemn commitment to my forthcoming marriage to Janet. I owe it to her that I even want to make that commitment and am even worthy of it. To her I am indebted for anything that is noble, good and worthwhile in me up until now. 

This is how I feel about her! This is what she meant to me! I have shared some very deep and honest feelings within me. I hope that from my words you can understand how I feel about her and why and what you can find beauty in that understanding.