Dawn Rene Hanson

The funeral service will be live-streamed on

the Harbor Church facebook page

Dawn Rene Hanson, age 68 of Willmar, passed unexpectedly into eternal life on October 14.

A Celebration of Life will be held at The Harbor Church in Spicer, October 22, at 1:00 p.m. with visitation starting at 11:00 a.m. and a reception afterwards.  In lieu of flowers, please give a loved one a long hug, share a story of her, or donate to Gospel India Ministries.  Arrangements are entrusted to Peterson Brothers Funeral Home.  www.petersonbrothers.com

She was born October 9, 1954 in Minneapolis, MN, to Orlin and Bernice Pearson, the oldest of four sisters. Dawn and Cliff were married on October 14, 1978, 44 years to the day of her passing. She attended Armstrong High School in Plymouth, MN, and graduated college from Inver Grove Heights Community College with an associate’s degree in nursing. After high school she spent many years as a missionary, spending the majority of the time in the Middle East and Asia. Dawn worked as a nurse for most of her career and spent her last 18 years in Canby Minnesota working in dialysis. 

She spent 35 years living on a farm near Dawson Minnesota, where they raised their two boys, Matthew and Ben.

It was always Dawn’s dream to live on a lake and in April of this year they moved to a house on Eagle Lake near Willmar.  

She loved spending winters in Florida swimming and fishing, cooking up stacks of steaming Swedish pancakes and playing intense rounds of Scrabble, Ticket to Ride or Dutch Blitz.

Above all she loved praying, spending time with her friends and family and worshiping Jesus.

She was active in each church she attended, including Community Bible Church in Montevideo, Dawson Covenant Church, and recently The Harbor Church in Spicer, where she recently participated on a 10 day mission trip to India.

She is survived by her husband, Cliff; her two sons and their wives, Matt and Sarah, and Ben and Bri; three sisters, Cindy Pearson, Sue Landmark, and Heidi (Barry) Brace; ten nephews and nieces, Christy, Kari, Shira, Caleb, Marilee, Charlie, Taylor, Lindsey, Jesse, and Emily and an abundance of  friends and family around the world that are too many to name.

Dawn was always full of laughter, joy, and love for those around her, something we will keep with us forever.