Kathryn Hansen

August 20, 2021

Kathryn Flock Hansen, 94, passed away peacefully on the morning of Friday, August 20th, with the windows open and her daughter by her side. A memorial service will be held at Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 25th.

She was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in Fallsington, Pennsylvania, the daughter of the late Ida Florence (Haven) and Martin West Flock. She met Raymond Hansen, a handsome Army soldier, as a teenager volunteering at the Christian Service Center, and shortly after their meeting, he was sent overseas. They married upon his return in 1945 and were together 55 years until his passing in 2000.

Ray and Kay attended Philadelphia Bible College together, and in the 1950s, they moved to California, where Ray would eventually join the First Baptist Church of San Jose as Assistant Pastor. In 1970, Kay started the Achiever Christian Preschool, and later expanded it to become an elementary school and middle school. As founder and principal, she was a passionate advocate for women’s education. In retirement, she was an avid gardener, and in the 1990s tended to over eighty rosebushes in her backyard in Livermore, California.

In the years following Ray’s death, Kay lived with her daughter Barbara in Fairfield, Connecticut. She was a prolific crewel work artist, and will be remembered locally as a charming storyteller with a large repertoire of folksy sayings. She was unwavering in her enthusiasm for the little things – black coffee, white wine, a fire in the fireplace, leaves on the trees dancing in the wind.

Kay was preceded in death by her husband Ray, and older sisters, Mildred Patty and Laura Petito. She is survived by her daughter Barbara, her son Tim, three granddaughters, and three great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations for the Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport.