Curtis John Hansen

Curtis “Curt” John Hansen, age 76, of Baxter, Iowa, died October 23, 2024, on the family farm, in his home with his wife, children, and grandchildren all around him just as he would have wanted. Even the dog was present and if you knew Curt, dogs growing up were very important to him. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at Brock and Robin Hansen’s shop, located at 6383 Hwy F17 West in Baxter, beginning at 4:00 pm with prayer and supper being served at 5:00 pm and a time of sharing beginning at 6:00 pm. A private family burial will be held at Bethany Cemetery in rural Baxter at a later date.

Curt was born April 28, 1948, in Iowa Falls, Iowa, to Earl and Cecelia (Ammann) Hansen. Curt was raised on the family farm and learned what a strong work ethic meant at a young age. His father Earl was stricken with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Curt helped from a young age to help his parents keep purebed Duroc hog barns handicap accessible for his dad while Curt’s mom tended to the chicken processing business in which they sold and delivered to commercial and residential customers in the area. A deep passion for agriculture and helping others were life-long traits that Curt possessed. Since Curt was an only child growing up his dogs were literally his best friends out on the farm. He attended Iowa Falls Schools and was very active in FFA. FFA was the only extra-curricular activity Curt was in due to his need to help run the family farm back home.

Curt attended Iowa State University and majored in Agricultural Education. He continued his involvement in FFA into his college years by becoming the State FFA Secretary. Curt spotted a blonde in his chemistry lab during summer school at ISU and decided to ask her to do chemistry lab homework at the library. Curt & Debbie started dating and the rest was history! They made many life-long friends while attending ISU.

After college Curt taught high school voc ag in Solon and Dows for 5 years. He was the FFA Advisor for the high schoolers, taught Adult Farmer Programs, and produced a weekly ag program on a local radio station. Curt took the Adult Ed attendees to Chicago Board of Trade and lined up speakers to educate the local farmers. Many years Curt’s FFA teams received Gold honors at the state contest level particularly in Conduct of Meetings and Creed Speaker. Also his FFA chapter’s band did well at state contest performing “Stairway to Heaven”. His passion to serve his community was evident at the FFA banquets as he pulled in many wonderful speakers. He also helped announce the high school football games where he taught.

Curt was united in marriage to Debbie Krueger on December 19, 1970, at Bethany Church in rural Baxter. Curt’s true passion was to return to his roots and farm full time. An opportunity arose for Curt and Debbie to move back to Baxter and farm with Debbie’s parents. With both Curt and Debbie coming from century farm backgrounds they both knew the ups and downs of farming--commodity prices, the weather and with great perseverance and business savvy they survived the 1980′s farm crisis. Curt and Debbie slowly built their operation--starting with a farrowing house for the hogs before starting in on a house for their family. They were blessed with two children: Brock and Holly. The entire family kept busy with corn, soybean, and alfalfa production while managing a farrow to finish hog operation as well as a cow/calf herd. Corn and bean seed were also sold out of the family garage and shop. Through the years many yield contests were won and he was interviewed for TV and radio spots. Curt farmed alongside his father-in-law Ed as well as building their own operation and eventually took over Ed’s operation when Ed retired. Three generations could often be seen working on the farm together or harvesting in the fields.

Curt always felt it was everyone’s duty to give back to their community. After leaving education and farming full time he wanted to stay involved in education. He was instrumental in starting the ag and FFA programs at Baxter. Curt was awarded an Iowa Association of School Board award for his 33 years on the Baxter School Board--22 years of which he served as president. He was well known for his witty and lengthy high school graduation speeches as board president. Two of the more memorable speeches and diploma hand-off’s were the years his two children graduated. Curt’s negotiating skills served him well in the ag spectrum as well as on the school board. He made many lifelong friends with board members as well as administrators and teachers he worked closely with through the years. Curt was always an advocate and served on numerous boards including FS Board, Cornbelt Ag Council, Jasper County ISU Extension, ISU Parents Association just to name a few.

When Curt wasn’t farming or serving his community he learned to fly the family plane, went scuba diving and on canoe trips with family, enjoyed pheasant/deer hunting, helped coordinate group motorcycle trips, and never missed the yearly WHO Tractor Ride. Curt never met a stranger and was never at a loss of words. He always knew what to say at just the right time and was always famous for his “one-liners”. Curt was a “power house” of a man. He always loved a good song or concert especially if it was Alabama, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Eagles, Beatles or the Beach Boys. He was an avid reader to self-educate and enjoyed Baxter Black poetry.

Curt always told others that you never stop learning. His background of selfless giving and striving to learn about new things, Curt wanted to be an organ donor. Both of his parents donated their bodies for research to the University of Iowa. Curt’s brain was donated to the Mayo Clinic Brain Bank for Alzheimer’s research.

Left to cherish his memory is his wife Debbie Hansen, Baxter, Iowa, of 53 years. Curt’s children Brock (Robin) Hansen of Baxter, Iowa; and Holly (Jeff) Sandhoff of Schaller, Iowa. His grandchildren Veronica (Gage) Condon of Urbandale, Iowa; Morgan (Clay) Hansen of Ames, Iowa; Ayden and Seth Hansen of Baxter, Iowa; Tate, Carmen, and Kirk Sandhoff of Schaller, Iowa and Curt’s canine companion Scooter.

Curt is preceded in death by his parents Earl and Cecelia Hansen, parents-in-law Rosemary and Ed Krueger, and brother-in-laws Randall Krueger and Randy Lisk.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the family for a donation to Bethany Church and The Baxter Community Educational Scholarship for an ag related scholarship in memory of Curt.