Allen E. Hansen

Allen E. Hansen, age 88 of Pompton Plains and Wayne, died peacefully on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.  He had lived in Wayne since 1964 and recently moved to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains.

Allen was born in New York City and grew up in Oak Ridge, NJ. As a teenager, Allen found work at several of the area chicken farms, and he quickly learned the ins and outs of chicken farming.  Soon after high school, Allen joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed on Guam for more than a year. He was trained in electronics, working on radios and all sorts of communications gear. Upon his discharge from the Navy, he returned home and took advantage of the GI Bill at Rutgers.  He earned his Bachelor’s degree in electronics and went on to join the IBEW in New York where he worked as an electrician throughout his career.  He also began teaching electrical classes on behalf of the IBEW at Rutgers, and he enjoyed that aspect of his career very much. Working in New York City, Allen was involved with IBM Corp installing early data cables in the World Trade Center towers. It was during this time, working in the World Trade Center, that he arrived home one evening with three, full-sized artificial Christmas trees. He explained to his family that the trees were displayed throughout the Towers, and were being thrown away, now that the season had passed.  He ‘rescued’ three from the dumpster and his family has enjoyed them for many years. Those trees have even greater sentimental value now, considering the history of the World Trade towers.

Allen met his wife, Elsie, when they were in high school. Upon his return from the Navy, the two decided to get married, tying the knot on April 7, 1956. Soon thereafter, they bought a home in Packanack Lake and settled down to raise their family. They enjoyed fifty-six years of marriage before Elsie passed away in 2013. Their home was Allen’s “work in progress” and he never stopped upgrading and improving that house.  He was a ‘homesteader’ at heart and built large gardens in his yard. He loved his vegetable garden and apple trees, and did his own canning. His homemade applesauce was delicious, and one year his pumpkin patch stretched across his entire backyard! He was very proud of his gardening skills, much of which he shared with his grandson, Ken.

Allen is survived by his two children; Karen Frankland and her husband Ken of Wayne, and Erik Hansen of Colorado, seven grandchildren; Kenneth Frankland of Wayne, Remmie Frankland of Wayne, Joshua, Adrianna, and Aneka Van Hansen of Colorado, Erika Hansen of Washington, and Britta Hansen of Colorado, and one great-grandchild; Christian.  He was predeceased by his beloved wife Elsie in 2013.