Darlene Maye Housley Hansen, an energetic matriarch whose trademark service and hospitality earned her the adoration of all who knew her, died at her home on May 17, 2016. She was 90 years old. Her cause of death was pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis she received just 22 days before her passing.
Darlene Maye Housley was born on October 20, 1925, in Pocatello, ID, the daughter of Gilman Jay and Sophia Mae Loveland Housley. Gil was a grocery store manager and Mae raised Darlene and her two older brothers, Lee and Ron. Gil's career took the family to Ogden, UT, and then to Oklahoma, where they first lived in Enid and Kingfisher before moving to Ardmore in 1933. There were no LDS wards or branches within driving distance of any of these relatively small Oklahoma towns. Darlene's parents held church services in their home, and received Sunday School lessons in the mail every month from church headquarters in Salt Lake City. In Darlene's senior year of high school, the Housley family moved from Ardmore to Oklahoma City, where Darlene graduated from Classen High School in 1943 and then enrolled at the University of Oklahoma. There she affiliated with Phi Beta Phi sorority. After three years at the University of Oklahoma, Darlene transferred to the University of Utah, where she met Evan Owen Hansen, a World War II veteran and returned missionary. Owen and Darlene were married in the Salt Lake temple on June 11, 1948. Owen affectionately called her "Doll," a nickname Darlene's family gave her as a child. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren called her Grammie Doll.
Darlene graduated from the University of Utah in 1947, and then taught second grade at Sherman Elementary in Salt Lake City while Owen finished his degree in Business and Economics. Work opportunities for Owen and a desire to be close to Darlene's family took the young family back to Oklahoma City in 1950, and then to Dallas in 1953, where Owen and Darlene raised their six children and lived for forty-eight years. Owen and Darlene were enthusiastic and tireless missionaries, and in 2001 accepted a call to serve as full-time missionaries on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. They extended their service twice and were privileged to serve during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Owen and Darlene remained in Salt Lake City after their mission, where they continued to nurture their grandchildren and great-grandchildren and serve those around them. Owen and Darlene were faithfully serving as as ward missionaries at the time of her death.
"I guess there is not another mother and wife in the world any more blessed than I am," Darlene recorded in her journal, a sentiment she expressed to her beloved posterity daily.
Darlene is survived by Evan Owen Hansen, her loving and devoted husband of nearly 68 years; her children Kathleen Hansen Hinckley (Clark), Steven Owen Hansen (Jill), Lori Lynn Hansen Nelson (Ron), Clark Housley Hansen (Sheila), and Darlene "Dolly" Mae Hansen Close (Calvin); 30 grandchildren and 45 great-grandchildren.
Darlene was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Leland Jay Housley and Ronald Eldorus Housley, and her son Scott Housley Hansen.
Funeral services will take place Saturday, June 4, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. at the Ensign LDS Stake Center, 135 A St, Salt Lake City, 84103. Viewings will be Friday, June 3, 2016, from 5:00 ‚ 7:00 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple, and Saturday June 4, 2016, from 9:30 ‚ 10:30 a.m. immediately preceding the funeral at the Ensign LDS Stake Center. In lieu of flowers, Owen requests that donations be made to the LDS Church Temple Construction or Temple Patron Assistance funds.
