Funeral services for Madalyn O. Hanson, age 73, of Estelline, SD, formerly DeSmet, SD, will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 23, 2010, at the Crawford Funeral Chapel in Watertown, SD.  Rev. Christina Matson will officiate.  Music will be provided by A.J. Sherrill as organist and Robbyn Givens as soloist.  A music CD will be provided by Courtney Scofield.  Madalyn passed away on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, at a care center in Estelline.  She was the widow of Morris Hanson and Bennie Hanson.    

     Burial will take place in the spring at the DeSmet Cemetery.  Honorary pallbearers will be all of Madalyn’s family and many friends.

     Visitation will be at the Crawford Funeral Chapel in Watertown on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday prior to services at the chapel.  The family is requested to meet at the chapel on Saturday by 12:30 p.m. for a prayer service.

      Madalyn was born on February 4, 1936, at Lake Preston, SD, to Boyd and Evelyn (Keil) Morrison. 

     On October 24, 1950, Madalyn married Morris Hanson.  Following their marriage, they lived around the DeSmet and Bryant, SD, areas.  They lived for a short time in Everett, WA.  The family returned to South Dakota and Madalyn spent many years working at the Ritz Café in DeSmet, the No Name Tavern, the Bryant Care Center, and finally at the DeSmet Post Office.  Morris passed away in January of 1984.

     Madalyn married Bennie Hanson on June 9, 1985, at DeSmet.  The couple lived on a small acreage north of DeSmet.  Together they raised registered Short Horn cattle and her pride and joy, miniature ponies.  They enjoyed hooking the ponies to the cart known as the ‘wee wagon’ and giving rides.  They also drove the ponies in several small town parades.  Bennie passed away in 1999.  Madalyn moved in with her daughter, Connie.  She later moved to several area nursing homes and finally to the Estelline Nursing and Care Center.

     She was a member of the American Lutheran Church in DeSmet.  Madalyn enjoyed cooking.  She always served two kinds of meats, two kinds of vegetables, and loved experimenting with new salad and dessert recipes. Madalyn enjoyed spending time with her family, especially with her grandchildren. 

     Madalyn is survived by five children: Jackie (Robert) Brown of DeSmet, SD, Connie (Gene) Lamp of Canton, SD, Wanda Steinberg, Maggie (Phillip) Brist, and DeAnn Chase all of Watertown, SD; 17 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; two brothers: Gene Morrison of Lynnwood, WA, and Dean(Delores) Morrison of Vancouver, WA; three sister: Doris Scoleri of Ajo, AZ, Marilyn (Mike) Lowe of Everett, WA, and Carol (Don) Danner of Mesa, AZ; and one sister-in-law, Gladys Zeller, of Arlington, SD.

     She was preceded in death by her two husbands; one son, Steve; one grandson, Jerod Steinberg; her parents; and one sister, Ethel Lawliss.