Audra Caroline Hansen, 93, died on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, after a long decline due to Alzheimer’s Dementia. She had lived at Hagerstown since 2018.
Audra was born in Oakland, Maryland, on March 5, 1927, the daughter of Ernest Ray and Tacy Maud (Bowman) Jones.
She graduated from Oakland High School and Ohio Wesleyan University. She earned a master’s degree in education from Butler University.
In 1950, she married John Marshall Hansen and they moved to Hagerstown, where she was active in Psi Iota Xi sorority and Order of the Eastern Star. The family also lived in Piqua and Dayton, Ohio, before moving to Indianapolis in 1959.
Audra was a full-time mom until the mid-1960s. She became an elementary school teacher, retiring in 1985. After her husband’s death in 1987, she returned to paid employment, working until the age of 84.
Audra served more than 30 years as a volunteer at Riley Hospital for Children. She was a 75-year member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, active in its alumnae chapters and working at its international office. She belonged to Meridian Street United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. In 2018, she joined Hagerstown United Methodist Church.
Surviving are four children, Robert (Pat) Hansen of Hagerstown, Lynn (Ken) Hansen Wakefield of Thorntown, Carol (Dan) Foster of Ellettsville, and Barbara (Mick) Hill of Durham, North Carolina; eight grandchildren, Mike (Tonya) Foor, Colte (Samantha) Foor, Emily (Craig) Balint, Evan (Stephanie) Wakefield, Jessica Foster, Brian Hill, John Hill and Harrison (Rachel) Hill; many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Despina Jones. She had excellent care in the past three years from her daughter-in-law Pat Hansen, granddaughter-in-law Tonya Foor and two home health aides, Joey Arnold and Star Hale.
Along with her parents and husband, preceding her in death were three brothers, Lewis R. Jones, Wilbur C. Jones and Thomas S. Jones; and a dear sister-in-law, Mary Virginia Jones.
Audra chose to donate her body to the Indiana University School of Medicine Anatomical Education Program and then cremation. Inurnment will be in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis. The family will schedule a memorial service later.
Memorial gifts are encouraged to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Riley Children’s Foundation, Meridian Street United Methodist Church or Hagerstown United Methodist Church.