Mildred Hansen

Mildred “Millie” Arlene (Pfeiff) Hansen — dedicated wife, cherished mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend — was peacefully promoted, WITH A SMILE ON HER FACE, to her heavenly home early Sunday morning, November 13, 2022 at the age of 94 in Fargo, ND. There is no doubt she was on her way to church sporting her new high heels with two legs instead of one.

Mildred was born to Erwin and Mabel (LaVeine) Pfeiff, Burlington, IA on August 17, 1928. At the age of 8, she moved with her family and two horses, Dick and Beauty, to the farm north of Chaffee, ND where she would primarily live the rest of her life. She graduated from Chaffee High School.

One day while visiting relatives in Iowa, she was introduced to a handsome farmer/sailor who eventually followed her to North Dakota. Mildred married Paul Hansen on March 12, 1958 in the little church in Chaffee. Mildred worked right alongside her husband on their family farm, where they raised their two children, Jenise and Darryl. She was very active in her church and homemaker’s club.

Throughout the years, Millie kept herself busy on the farm with her favorite hobbies of cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, and canning. She enjoyed hosting her family during the holidays, filling coloring books with her grandchildren (as well as teaching them the importance of indulging in a little sherbet after each meal), and she always had a pan of bars and hot pot of coffee made, "just in case" anyone would drop by. 

While her life was long and full, Mildred faced many hardships. She lost all three of her siblings far before their time, and toward the end of her life she battled stroke symptoms and an amputated leg. You would never know any of this, given her incredible attitude and smile that carried her through the rest of her years.

For her family, Millie’s memory will live on in the stories of her strong work ethic and faith in her creator, her patience, smile, and infectious laugh; they'll tell of her love for singing hymns and whistling along to Polka Party on Sunday afternoons, her spaghetti recipe that called for sugar, the taste of freshly picked curly parsley from her front stoop, the smell of malt-o-meal in the morning, her always stocked drawer of orange and strawberry sugar wafers, and the flicker of intentionally placed night lights.

Millie was a stranger to no one and truly left an impression on everyone she encountered. She will be missed deeply and remembered fondly by all who knew her. 

Mildred was preceded in death by her husband Paul, her parents Erwin and Mabel Pfeiff, her sisters Marian Pfeiff and Lois Pfeiff, her brother Clifford Pfeiff. Sisters-in-law: Laura Pfeiff Kummer, Ruth Whittey, Joan Hansen. 

Brothers-in-law: Peter Hansen, Chris Hansen Jr., Scott Whittey, Leslie Grau, Joel Olson and Craig Henning.

Surviving are her children, Jenise (Kent) Jensen and Darryl (Denise) Hansen, all of Chaffee ND.

Grandchildren: Courtney (Matthew) Brandes Minneapolis MN, Katherine (Blake Lukach) Jensen Mapleton ND, Jared (Jasmin Wolfe) Jensen Amenia ND, Alysse (Alexander) Sherk Gilman MN, 

Liana (William Miller) Hansen Grand Forks ND, Nickole Hansen Fargo ND and Lauren Hansen Fargo ND

Great grandchildren: Aven Lou Jensen-Kelly, Addison Lukach Mapleton ND and baby-boy Brandes (arriving January 2023) Minneapolis MN

Also surviving, sisters-in-law: Kay Olson, Jutta Hansen, Dorothy (El) Gertner, Sonja (Ray) Byerly, Sandy Henning, Eunice (Steve) Olson; many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Please join us in sharing memories and celebrating the life of Millie at West Funeral Home, Casselton ND. 

Visitation from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. with prayer service beginning at 7:00 p.m. Monday, November 21. Memorial service, Tuesday November 22 at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Randy Harwood officiating. (The funeral will be available to watch here on our website starting at approximately 2 PM on Tuesday)

Memorials may be made to Casselton United Methodist Church. Burial at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Fargo ND.

West Funeral Home & Life Tribute Center

westfuneralhome.com

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