B.A. Hanten

Bernard Albert Hanten
(June 16, 1935 – May 10, 2008)

BA Hanten, age 72, died Saturday, May 10, 2008, at his home in Merlin, Oregon.

A viewing will be from 5:00pm to 7:00pm on Saturday, May 17, 2008, and a funeral service will be held on Sunday May 18, 2008, both at Hull and Hull Funeral Directors at 612 NW A Street, Grants Pass, Oregon 97526. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of local arrangements.

A funeral service will also be held at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 20, 2008 in White Lake, South Dakota at the White Lake Methodist Church. Interment will follow at the White Lake City Cemetery. Bittner Funeral Chapel are in charge of arrangements in South Dakota.

Remembrances may be made to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research, 'For the Cure' and the National Rifle Association.

BA Hanten was born in White Lake, South Dakota on June 16, 1935. He attended school in White Lake, South Dakota. He then earned his degree in business at University of South Dakota, in Vermillion. While working at Yellowstone Lodge, he and his old friend, Elaine Cudmore, from his White Lake school days, became reacquainted and later married on January 17, 1957. Together, they raised three children, Michael, Michelle, and Mark. The family moved from Buena Park, California to Merlin, Oregon when they purchased Morrison''s Lodge on the Rogue River. They ran white water rafting and fishing trips, developed a raft manufacturing business, and operated a successful lodge and resort until BA''s retirement in 2005. After Elaine (Cudmore ) Hanten''s death in 1996, BA stayed at the lodge in Oregon. He subsequently met Lee Whaley and they married in December 1997, and the Whaley/Hanten families merged. BA and Lee spent time in both Oregon and South Dakota, enjoying their close families and friends, and also spending time visiting their families in California and Washington.

BA''s vocation of guiding fishing trips, boating, boat manufacturing, and building structures became somewhat of a hobby, because he took such great pride in his work. He cared for a job well-done and valued ALL those who helped him attain those goals. His other passions were spending time with family and friends, traveling with Lee, bird hunting, shooting, guns, and flying.

BA is survived by his beloved wife, Lee (Whaley) Hanten of Grants Pass; two sons and their wives, Michael and Joan Hanten of Poulsbo, Washington, and Mark and Karen Hanten of Alpine, California; two step-daughters, Julia Whaley and Jamee Whaley of Grants Pass, Oregon; a sister, Thelma Dean Nielsen of Centerville, South Dakota; and grandchildren, Katie Hanten, Connor Hanten, Madison Hanten, Churchill Creen, Jamee Bastian, Zachary Ward, Jerrine Crume, Jaylen Crume, and Jack Goergen. He is pre-deceased by his beloved wife Elaine (Cudmore) Hanten and his beloved daughter, Michelle Hanten.