In memoriam: Richard Hansen, father of Community and Government Relations' Kris Hansen

It is with sadness that we have learned of the death of Richard F. Hansen, father of Kris Hansen, manager of Community and Government Relations. Richard passed away May 27, at the age of 91, in Iowa while surrounded by family.

Hansen was born April 20, 1932, in Mason City, Iowa, and received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1955 from Iowa State University, where his campus activities included serving as student body president.

Following two years of service in the U.S. Navy, he married Barbara Mound and went to work for an architecture firm in Mason City. In 1963 the family moved to Iowa City, where he and two college roommates founded the architecture firm Hansen Lind Meyer.

The firm gained national prominence in the late 1960s as Hansen oversaw the planning of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics' vast expansion, paving the way for the patient-centered design now prevalent in healthcare architecture. The attention enabled HLM to eventually become the second-largest hospital design firm in the nation.

Hansen became president of the Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1971, and he served the Iowa Board of Architectural Examiners as president from 1980 to 1981. He was elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1983.

Hansen was a strong advocate for college education and established a lectureship series at the College of Design at Iowa State University and, with Barbara, a lectureship series at the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. He served on both the advisory board of the Department of Architecture and the advisory board of the College of Engineering at Iowa State University from 1971 to 1975. He was a member of the Board of Governors at Iowa State, and the University of Iowa Alumni Association named him a Distinguished Friend in 2011.

Hansen was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. & Mrs. R.P. Hansen, a sister, Mary of Reno, Nevada, and his wife, Barbara Elizabeth (Mound) Hansen. He is survived by three children and seven grandchildren: Kristen (Brian and Nathan Gallagher) of Oak Park; Steven (Angela; David, Matthew, Adalette) of Rockville, Md.; and Mark (Jennifer; Katherine, Michael) of Palatine.

A celebration of life will be held July 15 in Iowa City. Condolences may be posted online.