Albert Frederick Hanson was born on February 17, 1921 to Gustav Albert Hanson and Alice Mabel Lindholm in Osco, Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Rocio, of 50 years, son Ivan, daughters Noreen, Caroline, Katherine Cassaro (son-in-law Mark), and grandkids Paul, Nicholas, Sebastian and Izabella. He was the oldest of 4 brothers, Ralph Spencer, Robert Wilbur and Karl Adolph (all deceased) and 1 older sister, Nora Mae, who passed away at the age of 7. Albert was the second of the four brothers to enlist in the Army during WWII. The army found that he had previous experience with heavy equipment so he was sent to the 19th Engineers. They first went to North Ireland before heading to Liverpool to load up heavy equipment used in the Invasion of North Africa which landed in Oran, Algeria. He was sent back to the US, after being hit in the jaw with shrapnel during the Battle of Kasserine Pass on February 22, 1943. He received a Purple Heart for his service to our country and was discharged on March 15, 1945. He eventually ended up working for the US Post Office at Idlewile Airport (now known as JFK) where he met Elia Elena Stark. They married on August 10,1953 in MD, and later moved to CA to be closer to family. He worked with North American Aviation on the assembly line, installing electrical cables on F86 and F100 military planes. They had 2 daughters, Noreen Lucinda and Caroline Nissa. After visiting the country where Elia was born and raised in 1961; they moved the family to the Canal Zone. He worked for the US Post Office until his retirement in 1980. After Elia, passed away, he married his current wife, Rocio on December 24, 1968. They had 2 children, Ivan Albert and Katherine Nillire. While in the Canal Zone, he was active in fraternal organizations - the Elks Club, Masonic Lodge, and American Legion. He was best known as “Berto” the clown for the Shriners. He moved the family to Dothan, AL after his retirement where he kept busy doing different jobs, such as school bus driver, security guard, and a newspaper route. He was also a member of the Panama Canal Society. He attended reunions faithfully until 2015 where he enjoyed dancing, playing the maracas to Lucho Azcarraga music and socializing with all the Zonians old and young. He lived a full life and will be missed by all who knew and loved him.