Allan J. Hanna

bIn Memoriam./b A Memorial service for Prof. Allan J. Hanna, will be held at one o'clock on Saturday, July 15th at Wright Funeral Home in Moorhead, MN. A Korean War era veteran, Prof. Hanna died June 14, 2006, from heart failure.Prof. Hanna was born September. 4, 1929, in St. Paul, MN, the first child of Roger J. Hanna and Frances Auge. His early education included time spent at Jackson High School in Michigan, after formative years at the Howe Military Academy in Indiana. Prof. Hanna earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in English and creative writing at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 1955, he met and married fellow student, Mary Ann Harvey later divorced in 1998 with whom he fathered three children. After time spent in the military, Hanna, who read both French and Spanish, continued his education at the University of Minnesota, where he also taught English, and passed his Graduate Level Examination in Russian. Allan Hanna was Associate Professor of English and Latin, at Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he taught for 33 years, beginning in 1960. During his tenure at the University, Hanna's knowledge of legal prose and parliamentary procedure caused him to serve on several committees, including the committee to rewrite the institution's constitution. Prof. Hanna defended the right of teachers to control their choice of textbooks, and also championed the cause of part-time faculty, helping them to gain parity in pay and working conditions. A devotee of the Ancient Classics, Prof. Hanna kept alive the study of Latin at the University for more than 25 years, in part by teaching additional sections in advanced Latin and tutoring students privately.In his younger years, Hanna was an avid fencer and he developed a lifelong passion for both classical music and fishing. He was also a serious chess player who competed in and supervised chess playing at the tournament level for the United States Chess Federation.Those who knew him best will recall Prof. Hanna as a skilled, if not prolific, poet, who prized economy in creative expression. Whether due to his experience in the military, or otherwise, Prof. Hanna had a particular interest in poetry relating to the tragedy of war, which he included in his English and Latin curricula. His poem "Commemoration of Vincent d'Indy" was among those for which Prof. Hanna was awarded the distinguished Major Hopwood Prize for poetry. It is also said that he mixed a mean martini and was known for his wry sense of humor?one memorable result of which was his facetious creation of the obscure, self-appointed "Archbishop of Rustad".Prof. Hanna is survived by his daughters, Leslie Hanna-Nordby Kevin, and Karen Hanna-Strane Tom, granddaughters Joy Halverson and Chae Jaracz, all of Minneapolis, MN, and his son, Brian Hanna, of New York City. He is also survived by a brother, Dr. Richard Hanna Geri, former wife Mary Ann, as well as a niece and nephews; brother Roger Lowell Meg predeceased him. In lieu of flowers the family requests that contributions be made to the Allan J. Hanna Scholarship, c/o the MSUM Alumni Foundation, MSUM, Moorhead, MN 56563.