In Memory of Don Hansen


In Memory of Don Hansen

This is one of my all-time favorite photos of Don, at Yellowstone Lake. We drove around the lake the whole day, spotting elk, deer, and bear. Even saw mountain sheep. A perfect day and Don’s “live long and prosper” is one of my all-time favorite memories of this amazing man.



Father/Life Partner/Friend           Athlete/Writer/Believer                     Coach/Teacher/Mentor Author Don Hansen passed away on November 23, 2018, in Mesa, Arizona, after living a rich and fully blessed life. Always “larger than life,” Don continues to inspire us through his gifts of humor, wisdom, faith, generosity, and, most of all, his life-long demonstration of unconditional love. Don was a man of remarkably diverse interests and talents. A wonderful father, coach, and special education teacher, Don deeply loved children. So naturally he chose children’s literature as the genre for sharing his “life lessons” in Colorful Tales. And, of course, adults connect, as much as kids do, with what Buz learns.

In fact, Don envisioned children and their elders reading the tales out loud together. That is no surprise since Don connected so easily to people of all ages and gathered together people of different generations, backgrounds, and ideas. Don brought harmony wherever he went. Strangers and friends alike were drawn to him because Don was truly a “soother of souls.”

Thank you for visiting www.colorfultales.com. We know that Buz is pleased.

--Tiffany (daughter) and Irena (life partner) of Donald W. Hansen II (Alias Buz the Bear)

Don Hansen and his grandchild plus his great grandkid


In Colorful Tales, lessons of love, acceptance, wonder, humility, joy, and courage are tenderly revealed through the adventures of life-loving Buz the Bear. No ordinary bear cub, Buz surprises and delights as he finds meaning in living everyday bear life. Through his stories, young readers find their own unique experiences given shape and purpose while celebrating their love of fun and adventure, the natural world, and the realness of the spirit.

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