Lawrence "Larry" N. Hansen (December 23, 1940 – November 15, 2010), born to Jeanne and Stanley D. Hansen, was a Vice-President of the Joyce Foundation

Joyce Foundation

The Joyce Foundation is a charitable foundation based in Chicago in the United States and operating principally in the Great Lakes region.The Foundation primarily funds organizations in the Great Lakes region .-Programs:* Education: Focuses on public schools in Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee;...

. He grew up in Elgin, Illinois

Elgin, Illinois

Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...

, graduated in 1963 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

, and married in 1969. He had a long history of public service and politics including work done for Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, Freedom Democratic Party

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in the state of Mississippi in 1964, during the civil rights movement...

, Roosevelt Center for Policy Studies as well as internship in the Illinois House of Representatives

Illinois House of Representatives

The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...

. He was also a member of the National Council for Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations

Council on Foreign Relations

The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...

 and the Chicago Historical Society. He also worked for Democratic politicians including Senator Adlai E. Stevenson, III and former Vice-President and presidential candidate Walter Mondale

Walter Mondale

Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...

. He died in his River Forest, Illinois

River Forest, Illinois

River Forest is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The village is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park, Illinois. There are significant...

home after a year long struggle with lung cancer and was survived by his mother and three siblings, and by his wife of 41 years Margaret "Marge" (Rybicki) Hansen, who lost her mother Margaret (Mitchell) Rybicki, also to cancer, the previous month.