Claris ViAnn Hanson

Claris ViAnn Hanson, 88, of Sioux City, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at Sunrise Retirement Community.

Funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at Morningside Lutheran Church (700 S Martha St). Visitation will be held at Christy-Smith Funeral Home, Morningside Chapel (1801 Morningside Ave) on Friday, April 4, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with family present, and a prayer service at 6:30 p.m. Burial will be at Memorial Park Cemetery.

Claris was born on October 20, 1936, in Selby, South Dakota, to Melvin and Ingrid (Johnson) Thorstenson. She graduated from Selby High School in 1954 and from South Dakota State University in 1956. After college, she moved to Sioux Falls where she met the love of her life, Vonley Hanson, and then moved to Sioux City, Iowa. She was united in marriage with Vonley on August 6, 1960, at Morningside Lutheran Church in Sioux City.

Claris worked at GMAC, which she left to become a full time Mom to Mark, John, and Tom. She was a member of Morningside Lutheran Church, where she was involved in Altar Guild, Circle, and many other activities. She was also involved in Scandinavian Society, was a Cub Scout Leader, and played Bridge. Claris and Vonley also enjoyed traveling and visited many countries and much of the United States. Claris cherished attending her grandchildren’s activities. She loved to bake and spend time with her family, as well as having coffee and lunch with the ladies. In 1960, Vonley and his father founded the Rocket Auto Wash, of which Claris eventually became a co-owner and office manager.

Those left to honor her memory include her sons: Mark Hanson and fiancée Sue Stanek of Sioux City, and his children Nicole (Jack O’Brien) Hanson and their daughter Rosalind of Des Moines, Dan (Bekah) Hanson of Ames, Kyle Hanson of Sioux City, and Garrett Hanson of Sioux City; John (Jerrie) Hanson of Sioux City and their children, Carly (Blair Remmers) Hanson and their daughter Sophia of Des Moines, Caitlin (Cory) Brannaman and their daughter Lydia of Lisbon IA, and Calissa Hanson of Sioux City; Tom (Julie) Hanson of Sioux City and their children, Malea Hanson and her fiancée Zac Gaulke of Eagan, MN, and Seth Hanson of Omaha; siblings: Vivian Perman of Aberdeen, SD, Ione (John) Podgore of Fort Worth, TX, Topper (Judy) Thorstenson of Selby, SD; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Vonley; her parents, Melvin and Ingrid Thorstenson of Selby, SD; her brother, Merlyn Thorstenson of Selby, SD; her brother-in-law, Leroy Perman of Lowry, SD; and her sister, Bernice Thorstenson and her husband Fred Kraus of Sonoma, CA.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Vonley K Hanson & Claris V Hanson Endowed Scholarship for Music at Morningside University or the Morningside Lutheran Church Endowment.