Bob Hannah

May 24, 1919 — Jan. 31, 2012

Bob Hannah passed peacefully from this life on Tuesday evening, Jan. 31 at his home on Pear Point Road. He was a compassionate, generous man with a smile and kind word for everyone he met.

Bob was born May 24, 1919 in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Robert and Beulah Hannah, who also had a daughter, Betty, who was two years older than Bob. When his father died the following year, Beulah and her two children moved to Los Angeles to live with extended family.

Bob’s youth and young adulthood was marked by experiences that shaped the rest of his life. He spent many of his childhood summers on the family farm in Boone County, Ky.

As a teen, he gained life skills, discipline, and lasting friendships through participation in Boy Scout Troop 121 in Los Angeles. While a student at UCLA in the early 1940s, Bob led the soccer and ski teams, as well as being an active member of the SAE fraternity on campus.

After graduation from college and serving his country during World War II, Bob married his college sweetheart, Mary Lue Thrapp. They made their home in the Los Angeles area, where they raised two children, Laurie and John.

Bob entered business selling industrial staplers and nailers, eventually forming his own company which sold product to home builders and manufacturers throughout the western U.S.

After a run of 30 years, in the early 1980s Bob and Mary Lue sold their business and retired to Friday Harbor.

Following the death of Mary Lue in 2006, Bob married his longtime friend Sidney Thorson.

Bob is survived by his wife, Sidney; his children and their spouses, Laurie Hannah and George Witter, and John and Janet Hannah; and his grandchildren, Lea and Lydia Witter and Christine and Michael Hannah.

In the mornings after rising, Bob would often ask, “How can I make this world a better place today?” He then set out to do whatever he sensed was his mission for the day.

Thank you, Bob. You have blessed all of our lives, and we will miss you greatly.

In memory of Bob, in lieu of flowers donations may be made to the San Juan Community Theatre Endowment Fund. The Hannah family will be having a private family gathering at a later date.

— Family of Robert Hannah