An amazing seamstress who loved to travel and ski
Published August 8, 2019
NORTH READING — Olaug Hanson, 85, passed away on August 2, 2019. She was born in Bergen, Norway on November 19, 1933.
She lived in Ytre Arna just outside of Bergen and worked as the executive assistant for the president of the local textile factory. Olaug met her late husband, Irvin Charles Hanson, in 1963 in Ytre Arna, Norway on a blind date. After a two-year courtship they married, and Olaug moved to San Jose, California. In 1968 they had their only child and she is the cherished mother of Linda Therese Hanson Braje of Groveland.
Olaug devoted her life to loving and caring for her family, and, above all else, loved her daughter Linda and grandchildren Daeven, Riyan and Maleena. She adored playing with them and up until a few months ago she was still chasing Maleena around with the walker (which she referred to as her race car).
Everyone who knew her always referred to her as “the definition of a lady.” She had a smile that would light up any room and loved to laugh, especially at herself. She never had a negative thing to say about anyone and was always there to help anyone in need. She was an amazing seamstress and would make most of her clothes and her daughter’s clothes. She even made her husband’s leisure suits in the 1970s. It was not unusual to see her in her beloved garden in white pants and a silk blouse looking more like she was going out to lunch than gardening.
Olaug loved to ski. In her younger years, she would hike up the mountains in Norway carrying her skis. After moving to Geneva, Switzerland in 1982 with her husband, her love for skiing grew even greater and the two of them would ski every chance they had. Her family and friends referred to her as one of the most graceful skiers on the slopes.
She loved to travel and did a lot throughout her life. She thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors and experiencing God’s beauty all over the world. Olaug has instilled the same love for travel in her daughter and her grandchildren. By the age of four, even her granddaughter, Maleena, has already been to five countries and on over 22 airplanes.
As the years passed, her travel slowed to trips to Massachusetts three to four times a year to see her daughter and grandchildren, but she never lost the love for the memories she created while traveling. Though Olaug moved to Massachusetts in 2014, requiring more care, she would always consider San Jose, California her home and desired more than anything to return home to her garden and her beloved friends that she missed terribly.
Olaug is survived by her loving daughter, Linda Therese Hanson Braje and her son in-law Scott W. Braje of Groveland. She was the adored Nana of Daeven, Riyan and Maleena. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Irvin Charles Hanson, of Grand Forks, N.D.; her loving parents Ole and Therese Langeland of Ytre Arna, Norway, and her dear brother, Johan Langeland, and sister, Anbörg Hjørtland, of Ytre Arna, Norway.
Friends and relatives are kindly invited to come and celebrate her life on Saturday, August 10 from 1 – 3 p.m. at the Cota Funeral Home, 335 Park St., North Reading, with a prayer service during the visitation. Family and friends are invited back to the home of Linda and Scott in Groveland after the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to benefit stroke research in memory of Olaug Hanson to Tedy’s Team, 78 South Street, Suite 104 Wrentham, MA 02093 or online to TedysTeam.org. To leave an online message of condolence please visit: www.cotafuneralhomes.com.
