Remembering Drew

 This weekend we celebrated Drew's life. On Thursday night, we gathered as an extended family and had a dinner then sat in a big circle and talked about our memories of him. I took some notes and here is what people said.

Grandpa (Gary Hansen):  The last time we saw Drew was last week on the 4th. I remember all the cousins on the trampoline, bouncing up and down and playing basketball.

Grandma (Susan Hansen):  I asked Drew to come over last winter to teach my Activity Day boys how to make origami stars. He was very patient in working with them even though they were pretty clueless. Eventually they all went home happily with their stars.

Paula: This last winter we invited Bruce and Michelle over for dinner and we didn't have anyone his age for him to hang out with. I remember that Drew found the Duplo blocks on his own and played with them all by himself, quite cheerfully entertaining himself. I asked him if he wanted to play with a different toy--maybe something more sophisticated--but he said he liked building with the Duplo. I also remember him playing ping pong with his mom too, very enthusiastically.

Heidi:  Last summer I took Drew and my kids up to the Morris house and Drew played with the boring wood blocks and was quite good at entertaining himself. Drew was really amazing at rock climbing, a real natural with no fear.

Eli (missionary cousin):  Eli sent an email and said that when Drew came to visit 3 years ago, they played lots of Brawl Stars and .io games, hanging out together for the whole 3 days. Drew was a pure soul.

Neil:  Bruce brought Mika and Drew to visit a few years ago. On that visit Drew played the piano and filled the house with his music. We went to see the Empire Strikes Back and then we went to a famous Kansas City bbq place where Drew neglected to finish his fries so I got to finish them.

Hendrik:  I enjoyed spending time with Drew at the reunion, talking and doing activities. No one is ever really gone.

Kent:  During the Undokai, Drew was a good team player. He befriended Hendrik who didn't know everyone as well. They are close in age. Drew was the Asian Hendrik. Once they came to visit and I was impressed that Drew could button his own shirt at the age of 4.

JoEllen:  Drew was very good at the reunion treasure hunts; he was competitive and quick. He stayed at my house for a couple of weeks the summer of 2018 and remembered to call his father on Father's Day. He was really helpful and conscientious in making shrimp tacos. Nyla wasn't potty-trained and I wasn't sure how to help her but Drew and Mika helped me get through that week. They were both really patient with Nyla. I love how Drew whistled through his teeth like his parents. No one loved playing soccer with Drew more than Max. He was so excited that Drew was going to come visit last Friday but that was the day he died.

Brian:  Drew used to show up at the table and pound his fists on it, saying, "Soivis, soivis," a la Popeye. Looking back on it now, that seems so characteristic of Drew to do. He liked comic books and so many other things we Hansens like. He was a Hansen through and through.

Liesl:  I remember Drew jumping on the trampoline with Austin and me, and how impressed I was with how he could do both front flips and back flips with no fear. He was very athletic.

Talmage: We went camping up at Hope Campground with Drew and Bruce and hung out. It was a fun time.

Lucas:  Drew was good at anything he did. He was fearless and patient. He was very committed to doing what he wanted to do.

Everett:  We were hiking near Escalante and we were telling a friend of ours how many cousins I have and she wasn't believing me but when we went around the corner, there was Drew coming out of nowhere. Drew said, "Talmage?" (Younger children frequently mistake Everett and Talmage for each other).  It was pretty funny.

Caroline:  Last week at the 4th of July bbq, we were playing Kubb and I was on Drew's team. I loved how bad we all were at the game and Drew was bad with us too but having a good time.

Scott:  We were visiting Bruce and Michelle at Christmas and I remember that Drew was putting together some machine he had gotten from his parents. My strongest memories of Drew are from the videos that Bruce put together and Drew was always smiling. I remember the video showing their family hiking Kanarra Falls and how happy he looked.

Bruce:  At Kanarra Falls, Drew was loving it and saying it was totally awesome.

Miles:  Drew was my best friend even though Charlie was his favorite cousin. He loved doing flips in the air. Another time, me and Mika and Drew were playing a board game. Mika and I were about to win but then Drew came from behind and won. He had such a great sense of humor. We were looking at the yearbook and we found someone named Charlie Brown and we laughed so much. He was so forgiving.

Will:  We were cleaning the Morris' garage. One of us started a war with the dirty rags. We had to form an alliance to catch Drew but we never could. He was too quick.

Kurt:  I asked Drew once, how are you doing? He said, "I'm fine!" That's how I think Drew is right now. He's clearly happy and doing good things. Eleven years ago, after Alice died, we had a similar gathering and afterwards Kent gave me a blessing. He blessed me that I would take on Alice's traits. We can take on Drew's traits too.

Austin:  Once Bruce and his family came to visit us in Oregon. We went to a donut shop and got some donuts. Bruce was guarding the donuts and Drew was full of so much enthusiasm for the donuts.

Clyn:  I was lucky to share a room with Drew. Miles came to visit and they decided to sleep in our cove in our basement. They stuffed blankets everywhere so no one could come in. But I snuck in and said, "RAH!" Drew was so startled. That's my last memory of him. When he was younger, he and Mika were arguing . They were coloring and Mika said, You should color this book. Drew said, "That's the one I already drow." It was especially funny since his name is Drew.

Quincey:  Drew and Miles wanted to help us do our invitations. They didn't do it quite right but they wanted to help us and were very interested in everything.

Bruce: Drew really loved to do assembly line work. He was always ready to help with anything like that.

Miles:  Drew showed me how to ice skate. He was the best teacher I ever met. I was hanging on to the wall to skate but he got me off the wall. Drew was always happy all the time. He was running up the Y and I couldn't keep up. He wouldn't give up. Drew loved his family so much. He wanted to have a family reunion every year. He helped a lot of people be better people.

Heidi:  I have a video from the reunion of Drew playing "Pokemon" on the digital piano and Ellie and Adelaide were dancing.

Kristie:  With his death, everything was done that could have been done to save his life. I'm so grateful Bruce brought Mika and Drew to our house back in 2020. I was so impressed with how he felt the music that he played on the piano, even at a young age.

Scott:  I remember recitals at the Seville and listening to Drew and Mika play.

Ellie:  Drew was like a monkey. When we went rock climbing he just scrambled up the rocks.

Mika:  Drew wanted me to play ping pong with him but I didn't want to play. I told him that he always beat me and I wasn't very good. So he told me that he would teach me how to play. So he did teach me how to play better and he was so patient.