Wayne Willis Hansen passed away early Sunday morning, June 12, at the age of 80.

Wayne was born on June 7, 1942, in Clintonville, WI. His parents, William and Berniece Hansen, were dairy farmers in Wisconsin. William developed an assessing business. Rural counties hired him to reassess their land and then he attended Board of Reviews where he explained how he arrived at the assessment value of the properties he measured. Both William and Berniece were 4-H leaders and involved in the Lutheran Church. Berniece was a teacher in Merrill, Wisconsin for 18 years. Wayne was the oldest child in the family and had two younger sisters, Dianne and Eileen. He graduated from Clintonville High School in 1960. Wayne went to college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, majoring in business, and then attended law school at the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1967.

Wayne worked for the National Labor Relations Board in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He then practiced general law in Merrill, Wisconsin. He later specialized in labor and employment law: he was a longtime partner at Lane Powell in Seattle before opening the Seattle office of Jackson Lewis, where he practiced until his retirement.

Wayne met his wife, Carolyn Lemke, while in law school in Madison. They were married in 1969 in Bellevue, Washington, and celebrated their 50th year of marriage in 2019 with their family. Their son, Drew, was born in 1972 and their daughter, Janna, was born in 1974. The whole family moved to Seattle in 1979 and lived on Mercer Island since 1979. Wayne was an active member of Evergreen Covenant Church on Mercer Island and also served on the board of the Mercer Island Schools Foundation.

Wayne was preceded in death by his father, William, of a heart attack in May, 1967. His mother Berniece (April 10, 2007) and younger sister Dianne (January 17, 2019) also preceded him in death. Wayne and Carolyn moved to Covenant Living at the Shores on Mercer Island in 2019.

A memorial service will be held at on Sunday, June 26, at 2pm, at Evergreen Covenant Church on Mercer Island (3800 78th Avenue SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040). Condolences may be sent to Carolyn Hansen at Covenant Living at the Shores on Mercer Island. Gifts in Wayne’s memory may be sent to the Shores Benevolent Care Fund (Attn: Philanthropy Department, 9150 Fortuna Drive, Mercer Island, WA 98040), noting that it is for the “Wayne Hansen Memorial Gift.”