Flora May Hansen, 94 Years Young. Born in Los Angeles, California 1929. Married Richard Hansen. In 1951 Mrs. & Mr. Hansen created a legacy that would continue for generations to come. Flora & Richard went on to have 9 children, starting in 1951.
Here’s a few interesting facts about our namesake, hero, and someone we aspire to, Flora May Hansen:
- Loving mother of 9 children
- 35 + grandchildren
- Many great-grandchildren
- Formerly worked for Scantron
- Her biggest joy: “Meeting Richard Hansen”
- Her largest accomplishment: “My Children”
- Her favorite pastime: “DANCING !!!”
(Flora May is known to and will, outlast most adults on a dance floor)
A memory from Flora May’s Granddaughter Jayna Bosse:
…When my sister and I were in grade school, Grandma used to pick us up from school every Wednesday, it was our regular weekly routine. She’d take us 99 Cent Store shopping (back when everything actually was 99 cents!) then back to Grandma and Grandpas for some of the best pot roast dinners I’ve ever had.
Before our Wednesday dinners, Grandma would drive us all over our city. We’d be in her car at any given offramp (where many homeless people convened with signs asking for money). I often wondered, what did they need most… the food or money?
Grandma must’ve wondered too since I‘ve watched her do this at least 30 times before at the off-ramp: She’d slide her arm behind the passenger seat, plucking one of 15+ carefully selected & packaged grocery bags.
Each one is filled with identical consumables: peanut butter, canned tuna, crackers, jelly, pretzels, bottled water, a roll of crisp quarters & a new toothbrush. All I could think was wow! GRANDMA!!?!! That’s kind of amazing and brilliant!
At each red light I watched Grandma roll the window down with her sweetest and comforting “it’s ok dear!” smile to greet them with. Don’t make anyone feel less than or anything except GOOD about themselves, she’d reminded us.
‘Do unto others…’ grandma always says, with a tiny pointer finger gently lifting up & down. Absolutely the most adorable lady and the most angelic person you will ever meet… You’ll see.
Grandma Flora would give anyone (not just her family!) the shoes from of her feet, the jacket off her back, and the last dime in her coin purse. That’s just who she is.
This is my Grandmother, Flora May Hansen.
To this day Flora reminds her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, to be compassionate in helping others, even if inconvenient.
Flora May Hansen wasn’t the 1st or the last in the family to set an example. She had a role model in her own House…Her mother, Celia Custard, also known as Nana also a lifetime volunteer.
Flora’s mother, Celia Vargas Custard, was born in Mexico and was a lifetime volunteer in California. At 77, Celia was asked to be the Cover model for a national magazine, celebrating her Illustrious volunteer career.
In addition to having countless feature articles written about her work, each year, the hospital held a large gala, awarding those who volunteered and gave the most hours. Celia was usually the Belle of the Ball since she volunteered more than anyone.
Several of Celia Custard’s biggest awards were from El Segundo Hospital, naming her Volunteer of the Year (won many times in a row!) for being the volunteer who had served the most hours. The amount of time Celia donated per year was 5,000-6,500. That would be 278 days in one year if I did the math right.
By anyone’s standards, Nana was “famous” everywhere we took her; out to eat, at the grocery store, walking down El Segundo Boulevard waiting to take the bus home, and at the hospital, she volunteered for.
Celia became fast friends with the doctors, nurses, and patients, whistling her famous whistle, flashing her generous smile, tweeting her catchy “Toot toot” greeting in the halls, and always looking for someone to help (just like her daughter Flora would come to do and her granddaughter Debbie).
Countless newspaper reporters interviewed Celia, who was the guest of honor at the Philanthropic Award Gala’s. Celia volunteered almost up until the day she passed away at age 79.
The philanthropic bug was ingrained in our genetics by observing our Mothers. Nana took the bus every day to her volunteer job at the hospital, which was an hour away from her home.
Celia would walk from her modest home in Norwalk, California, to take the bus to Hawthorne Community Hospital (one hour each direction). Observing her Mother’s volunteer work taught Flora that the most precious and valuable resource that we could give is our time.
Frugal spending allowed them to give back to the community (no matter what hardships they were enduring or how little money they had). Flora learned from her mother to always be kind to the less fortunate.
Flora consistently sacrifices her own wants, needs, and desires to make sure no one struggles to meet basic needs. Flora May is a true inspiration to family, her friends, her community, and all the loves she touched.
Celia Custard is the mother of Flora May, grandmother of our CEO Debbie Hansen and Linda Ledford, and great-grandmother of our CMO Jayna Bosse.
Celia has been commended for her continuous philanthropic efforts in numerous news features — like the ones here — proving that giving runs in the family!
Thank you…
