CAROLYN E. HANSEN
Carolyn E. Hansen, 75, a long-time attorney in Stone Ridge who was active in political and healing circles, passed away December 14 after a valiant battle with cancer.
Smart and playful, down-to-earth and a woman of the world, Carolyn was similarly at home in rural Wisconsin and in Taipei, Taiwan, where she lived and worked for nearly 12 years. She resided in Stone Ridge for 20 years.
Carolyn was born April 17, 1947, daughter of the late Gilbert and Arlyne Hansen of New Holstein, WI. She graduated from New Holstein High School in 1965 and from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in 1969, with a B.S. degree in political science and international studies. In 1972, Carolyn graduated from the University of Michigan with a J.D. in international and comparative law as one of few women in her lawschool class. In 1973, she graduated from the University of Brussels, Belgium, with a master of laws, or LLM, in international and comparative law.
From 1974 to 1988 she served on the legal teams at S. C. Johnson & Son, Racine, WI; Schering-Plough Corp., Kenilworth, NJ, and Ralston Purina Company, St. Louis, MO.
During eight of those years, Carolyn was a security-cleared adviser to the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Dept. of Commerce on international trade negotiations.
From early 1988 to late 1999, Carolyn practiced law in Taiwan. As Hansen International Company Limited, she represented North American and European firms doing business in greater China and elsewhere in Asia.
Also in Taiwan, Carolyn established both the Earthplace Foundation, which brought sustainable development information to that country, and the Taiwan Business Council for Sustainable Development. And from 1992 to 1996 she served on the Democratic National Committee as a representative of the Democrats Abroad in Asia.
Returning to the US in late 1999, Carolyn settled in New York’s Hudson Valley, eventually residing in Stone Ridge where she practiced law and participated on national and international panels of mediators and arbitrators involved in dispute resolution.
While in Taiwan, she developed an interest in energy healing, which led to several degrees from the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. Carolyn was a past president of the Rondout Valley Holistic Health Community, and she served on the boards of various non-profit and professional organizations in the Mid-Hudson region, including the Stone Ridge Library Foundation.
Carolyn was an astute student of national and local politics. She currently served as chair of the Marbletown Democratic Committee and ran for a seat in the Ulster County Legislature in 2019.
Throughout her career, Carolyn published many articles and spoke often on Asian, U.S. and European laws governing trade, intellectual property and sustainable development.
In her free time, Carolyn enjoyed her friends, family, pets, hiking, painting and piano.
She is survived by her brother Roger, of Madison, WI; nephew Duane (Laura) Winkelman; niece Carol (Daniel) Ellis, plus grand-nieces and nephews.
A memorial is being planned for 2023.