Jethro Wayne Hansen

Jethro Wayne Hansen was born July 16, 2019.  As our first born son, he was named after his grandfather, and given a first name meaning abundance; because of the abundant blessing that he was to our lives. He was a very bright light who brought a lot of love to the world in a very short amount of time.

He was a gentle, fastidious, and tenacious soul; a self described “loving boy” who “loves everyone”. Despite multiple years battling cancer, he seemed to really appreciate life. His most common request was to “do something fun today.” He was a planner who enjoyed creating lists. He spent many nights happily planning the next day, packing the itinerary full of as many activities as he could think of at the time, then asking “does that sound like a deal?”

He liked visiting the aquarium, the arcade, and the dinosaur museum, and would often surprise people by accurately naming dinosaur species like pachycephalosaurus, or parasaurolophus. His greatest passion was probably his love of art, and the separate hobby of hoarding art supplies. He had a very large and lovingly tended collection of paints, coloring books, markers, and other craft supplies, and would often recruit others to come color with him.

His first interactions with new people were often very quiet and shy, but he had a remarkable memory and would often recall people or places with great detail. He had an adorable and often heard giggle, as well as a lively sense of humor, that helped carried us through the last few years. 

He was born loving food, and even after losing large parts of his appetite to different chemos, he still cherished the idea of food. He considered himself a small chef. He would often make meals for his family in his little play kitchen, and enjoyed watching food prep videos on YouTube. He also loved cooking with his mama, especially if muffins were involved. He could name all his favorite restaurants, and always considered it a special treat to go through a fast food drive through. He loved his chocolate milk. He loved making homemade cinnamon sugar pretzels and would often request them and slushies  for movie nights “with his family” both at home, or “at the cinema”.

He loved celebrating holidays. Christmas, Easter, and his birthday topped the charts, but his favorite holiday was Halloween. He loved the costumes and all of the possibilities for different things he could become.

He was a thoughtful child who bought his mama flowers for her garden with his own allowance money. He was also very diligent in planting seeds with her, and loved picking up new and different plants to grow. 

He was a very earnest helper who would sometimes spontaneously clean the house or the stairs, even at great effort to himself. Once though, he built and demonstrated an obstacle course in the hallway.

We loved watching him be a kind and thoughtful older brother. He would often request two of any treat he received, in order to make sure that Malachi had one as well. He loved his baby sister and would often give her kisses even before she was born. We did decline to name her “She Hulk” despite his many suggestions. 

He is survived by his parents and two younger siblings. He was an incredibly sweet and thankful boy, who brought a lot of light and love to his family and those around him. We will miss his beautiful eyes, his insightful comments, and funny, quotable quips. We love you Jethro.