Donald Hansard

Donald R. Hansard Sr. 85, of Bozeman, MT, passed on Sunday, October 3, 2010. Don was born on September 4, 1925 in Breckenridge, Texas to Robert and Ruby (Hellums) Hansard. He lived in Breckenridge until the age of nine, when the family moved to North Hollywood, California. At the age of 16, he became an Eagle Scout. When he was 17 years old Don enlisted into the Navy, where he was assigned to the amphibious landing craft (LCVP#8217;s, LCM#8217;s and LST#8217;s). He saw action throughout the Pacific where he made numerous beach landings including Iwo Jima. After WWII he joined the Naval Reserves and was called into action during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1952. On August 17, 1947 upon returning from WWII, he married the love of his life, Gloria Carver, in Los Angeles. There, he began working in the motion picture industry, building movie sets as a carpenter at various studios in Hollywood. The first film he worked on was #8220;It's a Wonderful Life#8221; where he sprinkled snow on Jimmy Stewart in the bridge sequence. Upon returning from the Korean War, Don became a projectionist for Technicolor and went on to become an Engineer, Shift Boss, then Chief Projectionist. He worked at Technicolor for 27 years before leaving to work full time for the family business, Hansard Process. As a Rear Screen Process Coordinator doing visual optical effects he worked on numerous Feature Films, TV Shows, Commercials, Music Videos and Stage Shows including War Games (for which he was nominated for a British Academy award), Top Gun, True Lies, Terminator II, Air America, Iron Eagle, Narrow Margin, Project X, Lady Vanishes, Star Trek IV, Abyss, Mother Load, Murder She Wrote, Moon Lighting, Lethal Weapon, Flight of the Intruder, Flight of the Navigator, Runaway Train and many more. His work brought him to many countries all over the world. His final film was The Edge, in 1997. He was of the 3rd out of 5 generations of the Hansard Family in the movie industry. Don retired in the late 1990s and moved with his wife Gloria to Bozeman, MT to be close to his sons and their families. He loved his family and friends and was always willing to lend a helping hand. Over the years he was a Scout Master, a sailing instructor, a Deacon for the First Christian Church of North Hollywood, CA and was on the Union Board of Directors for Local 165 IATSE (now Local 695). He liked tools and was able to build and repair almost anything. He enjoyed building engines and restoring cars. Don also loved the outdoors and was very active in the Boy Scouts with his three sons and was instrumental in all three become Eagle Scouts. He liked to ski at Bridger Bowl, backpack throughout the Sierra Nevadas, and sail along the Pacific Coast including Catalina Island. He was proud of climbing Mount Whitney in 1956 with his wife Gloria and young son Don. In recent years he was very active at The Ridge Athletic Club and loved spending time drinking coffee with good friends. Don was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Robert Jr., his son, Robert and his sister, Kay. Survivors include his wife, Gloria, of Bozeman; son, Donald (Bridget) Hansard of Bozeman, MT and grandchildren, Erin (Justin) Sobrepena of Belgrade, Julie (Scott) Shively of Glendale, CA, Elaine Hansard of Bozeman, Caleb Hansard USAF of Anchorage, AL, Nathan Hansard of Bozeman; great-grandchildren, Evan, Natalie, Sienna, and Lucy ; son, Andrew (Petronel) Hansard , and grandson Nicolas of Belgrade, MT; brothers, Jack Hansard of Yreka, CA and Bill Hansard of Los Angeles, CA, two aunts and one uncle and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. A Celebration of Don#8217;s life will be held at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at Dahl Funeral Chapel in Bozeman.