DAPHNE, Ala. — Mary Ellis Hansen accomplished feats within her 66 years that some could never dream of, friends and colleagues said of her death. She will be remembered as an educator and inspiration for teens.
The longtime Daphne resident died on May 15. She taught geography at Fairhope High School and bridging cultures as a leader in People to People International for 20 years. The organization was started by former president Dwight D. Eisenhower after WWII. It utilizes volunteer efforts to plan and fund intercontinental trips for limited-income students, according to Jeanne Lacey, the group’s scholarship chairman.
The group gives children the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see what the other side of the world looks like,” she said. “It establishes relationships of lasting friendships all over the world.”
Patricia Riddick, a retired board member of the organization founded the Mobile and Baldwin counties chapter in 1990 and began looking for leaders to work with children and plan for international travel.
She chose Hansen, and together, they worked with Baldwin County schools to bring global mindedness to fifth- through 12th-grade students.
Hansen began “enlisting teacher and parent volunteers, started the first groups on the year-long development of the skills and background knowledge necessary to successfully … fulfill the purpose of development of world peace through understanding and working with different cultures, languages, and acceptance of cultural differences,” Lacey said. “She was well educated in the subject of geography, which made her invaluable for this program.”
Hansen earned respect through her knowledge and character, Jean Singleton, local People to People delegation leader, said.
“As a geography and world history teacher she taught about cultural diversity in the classroom and lived it through her travels,” she said.
Hansen helped to established a scholarship-assessment team of retired educators at Westminster Village in Spanish Fort who rated student essays and financial need.
She traveled to six countries including Antarctica with students during her 20 years in the group and arranged for this year’s trip to Washington, D.C.; Greece; Austria; and Germany with teens from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. Jean Singleton, current area coordinator, will leave for the month-long trip on June 7.
“She (Hansen) promoted health and understanding of life itself with her work with the kids,” Lacey said.
Many people admired her ability to work with young people, Singleton said. “She was a role model that inspired hope and a can-do spirit in children and teenagers.”
Hansen graduated from the University of South Alabama and attended St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Max A. Hansen III and Lisa Hansen; two grandchildren, Max A. Hansen IV and Ann Hansen; brother and sister-in-law, Herbert and Rita Ellis; four sisters and two brothers-in-law, Brenda and Jerry Eddins; Linda Palmer; Sharron Marquis; and Susan and Ben Jones, and her nieces and nephews.
A service was held on Thursday at Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home.
The family asks that donations be given to St. Paul’s Thrift Shop on north Main Street in lieu of flowers.
