Jerry, my roommate for our first three years at Rice, was known for his dry wit, his friendly, outgoing personality, and his charisma and leadership, culminating in his service as president of Hanszen our senior year.
He had been a talented athlete and student at Midland High School in West Texas, and if not for a devastating knee injury his junior year, he might have played quarterback for the Owls—or, perish the thought, some other college team. His sports nickname at Midland High, “Killer,” indicates just how good he was. He also played clarinet in the Midland High band, a fact I learned only much later.
Tom Sudberry, who was a good friend of Jerry’s back in their Midland days as well as at Rice, remembered those times in an email: “All of us on the Midland Bulldog football team expected to win State with Killer as our quarterback. His injury torpedoed those dreams.” Tom added this tribute: “In all the years and circumstances that Jerry and I shared, Jerry (without trying) was always the smartest person in the room. And consistently a kind, honest, dependable, and gracious gentleman. I never heard him make a negative comment about anyone.”
Albert Kidd recalls another nickname, “Big Chief,” that was bestowed on Jerry by Tom Sears. (Albert and Tom were Jerry’s and my suitemates for two years.) “It fit Jerry perfectly—tall, handsome, proudly erect, a leader on the intramural field, in the classroom, at Hanszen (one of Rice’s residential colleges), and in his career as a distinguished cardiologist. Tom died in 2014, the year of our 50th reunion. Next year we will have to celebrate our 60th without Jerry. How we already miss the Big Chief!”
Jerry Alan Hanson was born in Mount Vernon, Illinois on March 8, 1942, to Robert Coleman Hanson and Lou Ellen Hageman Hanson. When he was quite young, the family moved to Midland, where his father worked his way up through the oil business and eventually owned an independent drilling company.
At Rice Jerry took pre-med courses and majored in economics. When he was studying organic chemistry our junior year, I would sometimes be awakened in the middle of the night to find him sitting up in his bed, eyes wide open but still asleep, reciting carbon-chain formulas out loud. The next morning, he wouldn’t remember the incident.
After receiving a B.A. in economics from Rice in 1964, Jerry attended Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, graduating with an M.D. in 1968. Along the way he did summer rotations in psychology in London and in a kidney lab in Madrid. I saw him there in summer 1967, when we attended a bullfight together.
He then served his residency in internal medicine at Boston Community Hospital. He enjoyed his time in Boston, even though his first experience there was disheartening. As he was moving into the apartment he had rented, his car was stolen. A few days later, his landlord said he could find him a replacement car at a good price. When Jerry questioned him, he admitted it would be “hot.” Jerry said, “Well, can I get my own car back?” That ended the conversation.
In spring 1971 Jerry, an ardent traveler, had recently returned from a trip to Machu Picchu when he met Lois Buenger, who also loved to travel and had just finished her third year as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. The couple married in July 1971 and almost immediately went on a long voyage—to a U.S. Army base near Seoul, South Korea. In those days, young doctors were obliged to spend a year plying their trade in the armed forces. Jerry and Lois thoroughly enjoyed their time there and later continued to roam the world with enthusiasm.
When they returned to the States, Jerry joined a cardiology practice in San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lois and he settled in Los Gatos, a suburb just west of San Jose, and lived there for the next five decades. He had a successful career as a cardiologist and served a term as chief of staff of the San Jose Medical Center (now closed). Jerry was a member of the Santa Clara County Medical Association and the San Jose Rotary Club and a supporter of the excellent local Opera San Jose. Over the years, Jerry, Lois, and I went together to quite a few performances there.
In recent times Jerry had some serious heart problems that may have played a role in the fall that led to his death.
We’ve lost one of our best.
