V. Jean Hansen, a long-time Kern Valley resident, died peacefully on November 2, 2021, in the care of Spanish Oaks Hospice in Savannah, Georgia.

Jean was born November 14, 1923, in Mondak, Montana, to Ernst Anker Hansen and Dagmar Clausen Hansen and was raised in Lawton Oklahoma.  Jean had five brothers, and four sisters:  Carol John, Paul, Olaf, E.A. Jr (Jack), Bud, Ann, Elsie, Helen, and Betty Jo.  All of whom predeceased her.

While Jean never married, she lived a vibrant and amazing life – always on her own terms. 

The day after her 19th birthday in November 1943 her mother signed the papers allowing her to join the US Navy WAVES.  While stationed in Washington DC, she was part of an honor guard for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.  She was stationed at USNAS Barber’s Point, Hawaii for the remainder of WWII and often recounted the thrill of celebrating VJ Day there.

After her discharge, Jean settled in Los Angeles, CA.  She worked in the music department at 20th Century Fox in the ’50s where she knew, bowled, and played tennis with all the stars.  In the 1960’s she built a house at Squaw Valley, CA up the hill from Walt Disney’s, and was there for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. 

She left Squaw Valley when “it started getting crowded” and moved to the Kern Valley where she would live for more than 40 years.  Jean loved her life in Weldon and the many life-long friendships she made there. 

Nothing could stop Jean but old age.   Shortly before her 90th birthday, she moved to Savannah, GA, to live with her sister Helen’s family. In their final years, both Jean and Helen were lovingly cared for by Helen’s children Roy Sewell, Victoria Sewell, and Cynthia and Michael Barnes.

Jean will be interred at the Bakersfield National Cemetery at 10:45 am on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

In lieu of flowers, a gift in her honor may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis TN.