- Date Of Birth: October 1, 1932
- Date Of Death: November 9, 2022
- State: Colorado
Melvin Wesley Hanna was born on October 1, 1932 in Glendale, California. After graduating from Van Nuys High School, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from UCLA in 1954 and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1959. While at the U of M he met his wife Sarah; they were married in 1956.
While in graduate school in Minnesota, Mel and Sarah had their first son Greg who currently lives in Littleton. After graduating, Mel and Sarah returned to California where Mel did his post-doctoral studies at Cal Tech in Pasadena. Their second son Steve was born in 1960 in Pasadena, and he lives in Loveland today. Their third son John was born in 1964 and died in 2011. Mel and Sarah have 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
In 1961, Mel accepted a professorship in Chemistry at the University of Colorado in Boulder where he had an exciting career in quantum mechanics research and in expanding the general chemistry program. In 1981, after 20 years at CU Boulder, Mel and Sarah began their second careers working with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). From 1981 to 2001, Mel and Sarah traveled the world teaching principles of Christian Counseling at YWAM schools in Hawaii, Switzerland, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Mel always loved fishing, camping, and the great outdoors of Colorado.
Mel’s physical and neurological health began to decline in June of 2021, and he died on November 9, 2022.
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