June 18, 1947 - September 2, 2023
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Donald Philip Hanley on September 2, 2023. Don's life was a testament to dedication, leadership, and love for his family.
Early Years and Boy Scout Achievements
Don was born in the Bronx, New York, to James J. and Elaine Wizemann Hanley on June 18, 1947. When Don was five years old, his family moved cross-country to Van Nuys, California, where he attended school, played Little League, and was active in the Boy Scouts. He earned the highest honor in Scouts – the Eagle Rank – in 1964. This remained one of Don’s most prized accomplishments and something he took immense pride in sharing with his grandchildren. He earned his Eagle Scout rank while he was working as a helper in the commissary at California’s Boy Scout Camp Whitsett in the Sierra Mountains. When the commissary manager quit unexpectedly, it fell on Don to step in, despite only being a teenager. Not only did he run the commissary, a job normally held by a professional, but he also streamlined the process of camp food distribution and saved the Council thousands of dollars over the summer. The Council was so grateful that they granted him the Eagle Scout award and recruited the famous mountaineer and Boy Scout hero, Jim Whittaker, to be Don’s Eagle Scout Sponsor.
Don’s love of Boy Scouts fueled his passion for the outdoors and led him to study forestry at the University of Montana. He obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry from the University of Montana in 1969 and worked for a brief time for Anaconda Forest Products in Bonner, MT. With the encouragement of his college professors, Don returned to the university to obtain a Master of Science Degree in Forest Resource Management.
Passion for Forestry and Education
While working on his master’s degree, Don met his wife, Kristina (Kris) Winter. They married soon after he finished his MS degree in 1973 and moved to Georgetown, California, where Don worked for the UC Berkeley Blodgett Experimental Forest. While working at Blodgett Experimental Forest, he assisted in the management of the research forest, overseeing the research projects of Berkeley students. One of his most unique experiences was to arrange for and to participate in a friendly game of baseball between a team of UC Berkeley researchers and a team comprised of inmates from the Growler Honor Camp of Folsom Prison, who worked in the forest.
A Career in Service of Forestry
In 1974, the couple moved to Moscow, Idaho, where Don worked his way up from Research Associate to Research Assistant, to Forestry Instructor for the University of Idaho. In 1978, he became the Idaho State Extension Forester. In this role, Don traveled extensively across Idaho to educate citizens on tree-related issues, from proper techniques for growing healthy Christmas Trees to managing Tree Farms, Windbreaks, and everything else tree-related. During their 9 years in Moscow, Don obtained his Ph.D. in Forestry, and two daughters were born. Janelle joined the family in 1978, and Brenda was born in 1981.
In 1983, Don became an Extension Forestry Professor at Washington State University. In his 26-year career at WSU, Don educated Natural Resource professionals, students, private landowners, and the public on forestry-related matters. This was a unique cooperative appointment between Washington State University and the University of Washington intended to coordinate the dissemination of research findings and extension education from both universities. He authored numerous books and publications and presented many seminars and workshops across the state. In 1995, he helped launch the flagship Coach Planning workshop for private landowners. This 6-week course helps private landowners identify their individual plans for their forest lands and brings together resource professionals to teach individuals how to implement their forest management plan to meet their goals. This workshop continues to be taught multiple times throughout the year and has become the flagship of the WSU Extension Forestry program. The Coach Planning Course has won several national awards for its positive impact on private forest ownership. Although employed by WSU, Don’s office was located at the UW, so the family moved to Kirkland, Washington. Kirkland became Don and Kris’ home for the next 40 years.
Leadership and Legacy
During Don’s forestry career, he was active in the Society of American Foresters and held many leadership roles in the organization. One of his proudest achievements in SAF came in 2008 when he was elected SAF Fellow, an honorary award for outstanding leadership and service to the National SAF organization. Additionally, he was a founding member and the first president of the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP). This Association brings together professionals from all areas of Natural Resource Management and has become the most important Continuing Education program for Natural Resource Professionals. Because of his passion for natural resource education, Don was instrumental in the establishment of the National Resource Extension Education Fund (NREEF), a 501 (c)(3) charitable foundation to fund educational opportunities for extension professionals.
Retirement and Travel
Following Don’s retirement in 2009, he and Kris traveled extensively in the Western US and Canada in their pickup camper, focusing on staying on the back roads and visiting National Parks. In 2019, he authored an article, “ 10 Challenging Backroads: If You Dare ,” published in the TruckCamper Magazine. The article highlighted some of his favorite drives.
Don’s travels were cut short by multiple cancer diagnoses and the Covid-19 pandemic. He fought chronic leukemia, bladder cancer, a neuroendocrine tumor, and pancreatic cancer for a combined total of 16 years. Don succumbed to pancreatic cancer on September 2, 2023, one day after he and Kris celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. His mantra “Every day is a good day” and his positive attitude were an inspiration to all those who interacted with him during his fight with cancer.
Family and Legacy
As important as his career was to Don, his family was his priority. He was a devout husband, father, grandfather, and brother. While his daughters were growing up, he spent many hours participating in their school and sports activities and supported them in their higher education and life goals. He was incredibly proud of his two daughters for their successes and felt he had gained the sons he never had when they married their respective spouses. He was equally proud of his three grandchildren and took much pleasure in watching them grow into responsible and caring teenagers. He connected with the grandchildren by attending sporting and scout events and by texting them a comic strip every morning along with a bit of practical advice. The grandchildren will miss the daily contact. Don taught the oldest grandson to drive and had planned to teach the other grandchildren to drive, but sadly that will not come to pass.
Aside from his passion for his career, Don had a number of other passions. He grew a large garden and shared the bounty with others. After a full garden became too much, he limited his planting to pumpkins of all sizes. His specialty was the giant pumpkins that he supplied to the grandchildren and the Jack-Be-Little pumpkins that he distributed to neighborhood children. Another passion was hiking. Weekends and vacations were spent hiking. Some of the more challenging hikes Don conquered were the 93-mile Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park, Angel’s Landing in Zion Nation Park, Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon National Park, and Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Another passion was train watching. Don was an avid rail fan and spent many hours trackside watching for trains to pass. He would record the engine numbers that passed by and kept a spreadsheet of all the engines he had seen. He said it was like catching fish but there was nothing to clean. Another passion Don held was to maintain his vehicles in top-notch running order.
Don is preceded in death by his parents, James and Elaine Hanley. He is survived by his wife, Kristina (Kris) of Kirkland, WA, daughters, Janelle Coughran (Les) of Snoqualmie, WA, and Brenda Hanley (Nathan Wilson) of Pinedale, WY, and his grandchildren, Conner, Alexa, and Jack Coughran of Snoqualmie, WA. Also surviving are two brothers, James (Halie) Hanley of Thousand Oaks, CA, and Dennis Hanley of Reseda, CA, and many lifelong friends. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.
Suggested Memorials
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Don’s name to one of these organizations.
Natural Resource Extension Education Foundation
In the comments section of this page, please feel free to share a memory or two about some of your favorite interactions with Don. This will be his legacy for his children and grandchildren.
Celebration of Life
A private Celebration of Life will be held in October.
Thank you to all his relatives, friends, and colleagues who supported Don throughout his life, especially during his fight with cancer. Your support sustained him.