Former state senator dies

PASCO — For 19 years before Wanda Hansen was appointed 13th District state senator, she was wife to Sen. Frank “Tub” Hansen, a former rancher.

During her time as Hansen’s wife, she lived in the state capital of Olympia during the legislative sessions, where she met other senators, said former state Rep. Gary Chandler, R-Moses Lake.

“She became his consultant, his secretary, his eyes and ears in the gallery and together they made the best decisions they could for the people of the 13th Legislative District,” according to her obituary.

Upon her husband’s death in 1991, she was appointed by the governor to complete her husband’s term.

“She was with Tub all the time,” Chandler says. “She was able to walk in and pick up where he left off. She had the respect of the senators.”

On Friday, Hansen died in a Pasco home care facility. She was 87.

Chandler remembered her as a “gracious person,” who was always good at helping move legislation through the Senate.

Her nephew, former Democratic state Rep. Mick Hansen, of Moses Lake, said he thought his aunt was a “big help for Tub along the way.”

Mick somewhat credited his aunt and uncle’s public service for his decision to enter public office.

“I thought, well, I’ll give it a try,” Mick said.  “It sounded like something that was interesting and it was interesting.”

Growing up, Mick said he spent a lot of time at his aunt and uncle’s home.

They had two sons close to his age. Together the cousins would slide down the hills and play in the barns, he said.

“She’s been a very dear aunt to me all along,” Mick said. “She’s a very dignified woman, I’ll say that for her.  She was like a queen.”

Former state Sen. Joyce Mulliken, R-Moses Lake, said Hansen set a standard she admired and hoped to emulate.

“She was so gracious and had a wonderful reputation as a senator’s wife and a senator,” Mulliken said. “Her contribution was probably immeasurable to the community and our state.”

Mulliken served as a state legislator after Hansen, but said she thinks they had mutual respect for one another.

“Especially after serving there, knowing a woman working in a man’s world is a challenge,” Mulliken says.

Mulliken also spoke of the challenges of being a spouse to a legislator and serving as a legislator, which includes “living in a fishbowl.”

“Having your private life exposed is always a challenge,” she added.

For Mulliken, leaving home for every legislative session in Olympia was another challenge, she said.

Mulliken attributed a quote to former Seventh District Rep. Helen Fancher, who said the hardest thing about being a female legislator “is that you don’t have a wife.”

Hansen’s services are set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Kayser’s Chapel of Memories in Moses Lake.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, friends are asked to share memories about Hansen with her family at the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club.