Richard and Jeanette Hahn

Richard Lawrence Hahn, born on October 5, 1949 in Minot, North Dakota, left us on October 11, 2024, and Jeanette Cecilia (Laqua) Hahn, born on September 18, 1949 in Williston, North Dakota, followed him on October 12, 2024 due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. They loved each other, their children, Laurie (Ganser) and her husband Robin, and Markus and his wife Jennifer, and they were the proudest, most doting grandparents of Lydia, Holden, and Shelby. Grandma-Grandpa Day, a weekly event, will be missed forever. After 52 years of marriage, the small silver lining in this tragedy is the beauty in knowing they went together. Richard and Jeanette were devoted Christians, and in this time of sorrow and loss, we are leaning on their strong faiths.

Retired music teachers, Richard and Jeanette met at Minot State Teachers’ College and attended St. Cloud State University before earning their Master’s of Music in Music Education at the University of Minnesota. They each served thousands of students as band and choir directors, respectively, in Henning and Vining, MN, Minot and Donnybrook, ND, and finally in Forest Lake and St. Francis, MN, teaching for a combined 74 years. European tours and performances at the Macy’s and Tournament of Roses Parade are only a few of their lasting legacies as educators.

Richard and Jeanette were masters of loving through acts of service. They always showed up–as parents, as grandparents, as neighbors, and as friends. Together in their retirement, they found joy in working as ushers for the Minnesota Orchestra, traveling, socializing with friends, and exploring new places in the Twin Cities area. They spent as much time as possible at their cabin on Clitherall Lake. Richard and Jeanette’s widest grins were seen while driving the boat and watching their children and grandchildren learn to love “The Lake” as much as they did. 

Richard loved spending time in the kitchen, and anyone who ate a meal he prepared knows that he loved describing the food preparation in great detail while complimenting himself throughout the dining experience to all at the table. He threw himself into history projects, and his love for perennials can be seen in the haven that he built in their backyard in Forest Lake. Richard loved sharing jokes and news articles, and he spent hours each day on the phone staying connected with friends and family. Richard loved Minnesota sports, especially the Minnesota Gophers. A cherished memory is receiving a phone call from Richard, outside of the then-named TCF Bank Stadium before the Gopher football team’s inaugural return to campus in 2009: “It’s absolutely electric!” 

Jeanette loved coffee and tea with her many dear friends, and preferred her coffee “with half hot water” like any good Scandinavian Minnesotan does. She was an involved member at Faith Lutheran Church, playing piano for the Praise Team for years and working for the Sacred Settlement. She loved dogs more than anyone on earth, and gifted dozens of her beautiful quilts to friends and family. After building cherished relationships with her family in Norway, Jeanette learned Norwegian and more recently was studying Spanish. After developing congestive heart failure in fall of 2020, Jeanette courageously enrolled in the Edwards Lifesciences APTURE Shunt medical trial, and the success she experienced will benefit countless lives in the future.

Jeanette and Richard are preceded in death by parents Francis and Lovella Laqua and Lawrence and Gloria Hahn, brothers-in-law Jerry LeDosquet and John Baehr, and forever friends Bill Haring and Paul Kolnberger. In addition to their children and grandchildren, they are survived by siblings Loren (Karen) Laqua, Delary (Jean) Laqua, Pat (Ted) Ferriter, Phyllis LeDosquet, Melanie Baehr, Judy (David) Hanson, and Rob (Sandy) Hahn, as well as dozens of nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and -nephews, and countless friends.

The family will greet friends from 4:00-8:00 PM Friday, October 25, 2024 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake. A celebration of their lives will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, October 26, 2024 at Faith Lutheran Church, 886 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake with a private interment to follow. Family requests that attendees wear Minnesota Maroon and Gold. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations for the establishment of the Richard and Jeanette Hahn Memorial Scholarship Fund (Attn: Laurie Hahn Ganser) for students pursuing music degrees at the University of Minnesota. Donations can be mailed to Mattson Funeral Home ATTN: Laurie Hahn Ganser, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake, Minnesota 55025