William L. Hanson

William Leslie Hanson, "Les", was a transplant in the Chippewa Valley and after being here for a few months came to really love the area and all of the people that he met and came to be friends with.

He was born January 29, 1949, in Talladega, Alabama, to a young couple who soon moved back to the groom's home town of Brooklyn, New York. Jerry Gerald was the dad and Amy Edwards was his mom. Two more sons were soon added to the family and Les was often helping out with the younger kids while his parents worked. After a few years the family decided to try something different and migrated to Mexico to live for a few years before moving on to Texas.

After reaching his older teens, Les left the family unit and began making his own way in the world being employed at various types of jobs but especially loved working with the Import/Export industry in large port cities of the US. He loved the chance to be around the beautiful and exotic pieces of art from all over the world. His taste for exotic, beautiful art pieces never left him.

He was a very quiet man who usually stayed to himself although he had some very close friends in both Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire who he enjoyed visiting with. He loved reading...only non-fiction...he said that real life is odd enough and scary enough that he doesn't need to read a book of fiction to confront them. He loved his book collection.

Les's favorite hobbies were thrift sale shopping, driving in the countryside and gardening in the two yards of his house.

Les died at his home on January 30, 2026...one day after his 77th birthday. He will be missed.

Per Les’s wishes, no formal service will be held.