Teddy Hansen's Obituary
Teddi Hansen passed away on Sunday, June 18th at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is survived by her husband John, her younger sister Cindy (of St. Louis), her children Mark, Stacy, Tim, and Shawn, ten grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and her stepdaughter Lauren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Fredrick and Calista Kershner, by her older sister Laura, and by her younger brother Kit.
She was born at Morningside Hospital in Tulsa, on January 2, 1937. She spent almost all of her life in Tulsa, and was always proud that she was a Tulsa girl. She was always a perfect lady, courteous, kind, thoughtful, and immaculately groomed and dressed. She was blessed with beauty and an astonishingly youthful appearance that she retained to the end.
After graduation from Central in 1954, she married her high school sweetheart, Jim Wagor, and after years of raising children, sailing, and building a business, the marriage ended. Teddi remained single for a number of years, took college courses, and entered the work force, eventually becoming an executive secretary at Hilti before she retired. When she met John, probably nobody was more surprised than they were that two so dissimilar people would fall in love and stay together for twenty-six years.
Teddi’s long (but much too short) life was characterized by love. She loved her children fiercely and without limits. She loved John and he loved her. She loved her sisters and the three of them loved to travel together. She certainly loved all the dogs, cats, birds, and other pets she had over the years, and they all returned that love. She loved her many friends—school friends, bridge friends, Salvation Army friends, zoo friends, Spotlight Theater friends, and the neighbors whose board-game sessions became one of the delights of her life.
In recent years, Teddi had begun to develop some health problems which left her unable to live her life as fully and freely as she would have liked. She faced them with defiance and courage, behaving in such a way that few people outside her intimate circle were aware of them.
On Friday, June 9, however, she suffered a heart attack and stroke. The doctors and staff of the St. Francis ICU did their best to save her, but in the end the stroke had done too much damage and she did not regain consciousness.
Teddi had never liked public notice, and in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 18, while everyone else was distracted by 100 mile-per-hour winds and massive power failures, she quietly slipped off into a world of light, love, and peace. As was always the case through her life, the place she left was diminished by her departure, leaving it saddened and darkened. We can only hope that when time has faded the pain of her loss, our lives may once again be brightened by the memory of her face and gladdened by the thought of her smile.
What’s your fondest memory of Teddy?
What’s a lesson you learned from Teddy?
Share a story where Teddy's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Teddy you’ll never forget.
How did Teddy make you smile?