John was one of those guys at RHS who flew so below the radar that one would be excused for thinking he wasn’t destined for great things. That turned out not to be the case, big time.
Actually, John and I knew each other before John was even born! Say what? John’s mother, Ruth, was a nurse in the OB department of the Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in south Minneapolis and my mother, a widow, was a head nurse in another department in that same hospital. It’s a long story I won’t tell here but my mother, when she gave birth to me in mid-February, 1943, had no options but to leave me in the hospital OB ward for something like 4 months. [As a health economist, I love to tell the story that it cost her 50¢ a day to keep me there in the OB ward.] And who took a shine to me there? None other than Ruth Hansen, John’s mother. Even when she herself became an inpatient in the OB ward to give birth to John in May, she held me next to BJ, Big John, a mirthful-moniker that he gained from his particular style of playing touch football. [Perhaps more below.]
I became re-acquainted with John when my family moved to South Minneapolis just before I started junior high school at Folwell. We went to the UM as undergraduates and in our senior year we lived in a duplex on the wild, wild West Bank, with, among others, Bryan Arling upstairs, all pre-med students but me. That senior year at the UM John caught fire in an intellectual and academic way, working part-time in the lab of the microbiologist, Alan Hooper. And as a result, he applied to Stanford Medical School and was accepted into their 5-year program that included an extra year exploring specialized subject areas. In that fifth year he went to London and studied immunology and when he graduated he took an internship at the UM Hospitals and there came to know Dr. Robert A. Good, the famous oncologist/immunologist.
And when Dr. Good left the UM and became the head of the Sloane-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in NYC, he asked John to come and do research there. Which John and his wife, Mary Ann, did. After some years there he accepted a professorship at the Univ. of Washington’s Medical School and the prestigious Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
And there in Seattle John and Mary Ann raised their three children and John carved out an esteemed career in cancer research. At some point he took a leave and, along with three others, formed a start-up company that was very successful in doing research about—and bringing to market a number of—monoclonal antibodies, which bind to only one substance and as such are used to treat some types of cancer by carrying drugs, toxins, or radioactive substances directly to cancer cells.
He established his own cancer research lab at “The Hutch”, the Hansen Lab, where he made major contributions to the development of bone marrow transplantation, which has offered the chance for a cure to millions worldwide. John continued to win large federal research grants and do research until his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer just a few years ago. His first wife, Mary Ann, succumbed to cancer and he is survived by his second wife, Suzanne, and his 4 children.
I was a best man for both weddings, the first in Minnesota in 1967 and the second in Seattle—one of five ‘best men’ each time. [Stories, do I have stories to tell of those weddings!]
From a slow, slow start as a so-so touch football player in high school and undergraduate days on the gently sloping playing fields of Powderhorn Park, John went on to make a major difference in the lives of many, many people.
On a personal level, we shared many wonderful experiences not just playing touch football and park board hockey games—The Powderhorn Flashes, as Bob Johnson once referred to us in his history class—but in many important times and ways in each of our lives.
Gestur Davidson
P.S. What the future ‘Badger Bob’ Johnson likely did not know in giving our park board hockey team that funky little moniker is that John’s uncle, Oscar Hansen, played hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks for a short while in the 1930’s, and that we were coached by Al Hansen, John’s father and one of the many standout Hansen brothers who all came down to play hockey for Augsburg College from Alberta, Canada. I believe Oscar still holds the college hockey record for scoring three goals in one minute!
Finally, if anyone wants more detail on John’s career and accomplishments, you can find it at these links.
My deepest sympathy to the family and friends of John. It seems the world has lost an extremely valuable member of the medical field. Given his contributions, as explained by Gestur Brent Davidson, I am sure there are many people out there who are more than grateful to John for his work.
Wow! What a well written tribute for John! Thank you for sharing all that story as we alumnae would have no idea of this amazing life! Blessings to John’s family as you grieve. I was especially moved as we lost our daughter in law to multiple myeloma and she was the recipient of some of this research. Thank you Brent for sharing this amazing life story!
Yes, an outstanding tribute to John and as we all know Roosevelt high school class of 91 was and is a very Special Class.My thoughts are with the family. Maggie Skaff
Thanks for the suggestion, Barb and Douglas, about nominating John to the Teddy Hall of Fame. Pat Zajac explained to me how it’s done and I’ll look into it.
And thank you all for your kinds words for my comment and your condolences.
Gestur Brent Davidson
John was one of those guys at RHS who flew so below the radar that one would be excused for thinking he wasn’t destined for great things. That turned out not to be the case, big time.
Actually, John and I knew each other before John was even born! Say what? John’s mother, Ruth, was a nurse in the OB department of the Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in south Minneapolis and my mother, a widow, was a head nurse in another department in that same hospital. It’s a long story I won’t tell here but my mother, when she gave birth to me in mid-February, 1943, had no options but to leave me in the hospital OB ward for something like 4 months. [As a health economist, I love to tell the story that it cost her 50¢ a day to keep me there in the OB ward.] And who took a shine to me there? None other than Ruth Hansen, John’s mother. Even when she herself became an inpatient in the OB ward to give birth to John in May, she held me next to BJ, Big John, a mirthful-moniker that he gained from his particular style of playing touch football. [Perhaps more below.]
I became re-acquainted with John when my family moved to South Minneapolis just before I started junior high school at Folwell. We went to the UM as undergraduates and in our senior year we lived in a duplex on the wild, wild West Bank, with, among others, Bryan Arling upstairs, all pre-med students but me. That senior year at the UM John caught fire in an intellectual and academic way, working part-time in the lab of the microbiologist, Alan Hooper. And as a result, he applied to Stanford Medical School and was accepted into their 5-year program that included an extra year exploring specialized subject areas. In that fifth year he went to London and studied immunology and when he graduated he took an internship at the UM Hospitals and there came to know Dr. Robert A. Good, the famous oncologist/immunologist.
And when Dr. Good left the UM and became the head of the Sloane-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in NYC, he asked John to come and do research there. Which John and his wife, Mary Ann, did. After some years there he accepted a professorship at the Univ. of Washington’s Medical School and the prestigious Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
And there in Seattle John and Mary Ann raised their three children and John carved out an esteemed career in cancer research. At some point he took a leave and, along with three others, formed a start-up company that was very successful in doing research about—and bringing to market a number of—monoclonal antibodies, which bind to only one substance and as such are used to treat some types of cancer by carrying drugs, toxins, or radioactive substances directly to cancer cells.
He established his own cancer research lab at “The Hutch”, the Hansen Lab, where he made major contributions to the development of bone marrow transplantation, which has offered the chance for a cure to millions worldwide. John continued to win large federal research grants and do research until his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer just a few years ago. His first wife, Mary Ann, succumbed to cancer and he is survived by his second wife, Suzanne, and his 4 children.
I was a best man for both weddings, the first in Minnesota in 1967 and the second in Seattle—one of five ‘best men’ each time. [Stories, do I have stories to tell of those weddings!]
From a slow, slow start as a so-so touch football player in high school and undergraduate days on the gently sloping playing fields of Powderhorn Park, John went on to make a major difference in the lives of many, many people.
On a personal level, we shared many wonderful experiences not just playing touch football and park board hockey games—The Powderhorn Flashes, as Bob Johnson once referred to us in his history class—but in many important times and ways in each of our lives.
Gestur Davidson
P.S. What the future ‘Badger Bob’ Johnson likely did not know in giving our park board hockey team that funky little moniker is that John’s uncle, Oscar Hansen, played hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks for a short while in the 1930’s, and that we were coached by Al Hansen, John’s father and one of the many standout Hansen brothers who all came down to play hockey for Augsburg College from Alberta, Canada. I believe Oscar still holds the college hockey record for scoring three goals in one minute!
Finally, if anyone wants more detail on John’s career and accomplishments, you can find it at these links.
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2019/08/john-hansen-obituary.html
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2018/07/john-hansen-profile.html
Dennis Dvorak
My sympathy to John's wife and children...John had an impressive career in medicine and family life.
Dennis Dvorak
Linda Akerson (Towne)
My deepest sympathy to the family and friends of John. It seems the world has lost an extremely valuable member of the medical field. Given his contributions, as explained by Gestur Brent Davidson, I am sure there are many people out there who are more than grateful to John for his work.
Linda Akerson Towne
Barbara Hoglund (Newberry)
Wow! What a well written tribute for John! Thank you for sharing all that story as we alumnae would have no idea of this amazing life! Blessings to John’s family as you grieve. I was especially moved as we lost our daughter in law to multiple myeloma and she was the recipient of some of this research. Thank you Brent for sharing this amazing life story!
Douglas Huberty
I think he belongs in the Teddy hall of fame if he's not there already.
Margaret McMAHON (Skaff)
Yes, an outstanding tribute to John and as we all know Roosevelt high school class of 91 was and is a very Special Class.My thoughts are with the family. Maggie Skaff
Barbara Hoglund (Newberry)
I agree. Teddy Hall of Fame! Talk about making a difference in many peoples lives!
Gestur Brent Davidson
Thanks for the suggestion, Barb and Douglas, about nominating John to the Teddy Hall of Fame. Pat Zajac explained to me how it’s done and I’ll look into it.
And thank you all for your kinds words for my comment and your condolences.
Gestur
Ronald Naslund
Brent
Thanks for your wonderful comments on John. You did a great job. His life was amazing .
Ron Naslund