Chris Cecile Hansen
May 22, 1941 ~ October 20, 2004
Resided in:
Asheville, NC
"Chris" Cecile R. Hansen, 63, of Asheville, died Wednesday, October 20, 2004, at the Hospice Solace Center, Asheville.
Mrs. Hansen was born in Washington, DC and was a daughter of the late Edward F. and Grace Hankinson Rafer. She was a graduate of the West Suburban Hospital School of Nursing and received her B.S. Degree in Nursing from Wheaton College. She also attended the Gordon Cornwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA.
Surviving are two brothers, Bruce Rafer and Robert W. Rafer, both of MD; a cousin Fred Hankinson of Asheville; and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Zion Christian Assembly with Pastor Debbie Brittain officiating. Interment will be at 3:00 p.m. at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Pickens, SC.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Zion Christian Assembly, 1 Sunset Parkway, Asheville, NC 28801, for Operation Blessing Fund or for Samaritan’s Purse.
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Chris was a very special friend in our lives. Very Special. And she will be missed greatly until we meet again.
When we think of her we remember her bravery what she endured over the past years.She was a real trooper and kept a joyful attitude. And we will remember her great faith even in the end. I am reminded of Hebrews 11 especially verses 39 and 40.
Mary Baxter wrote of experiences in heaven and how heaven had pianos there similar to our grand pianos here only longer.
I know Chris is Praising Jesus right now on one of those pianos. She’s missed playing over these past months.
And I know that now by His Stripes Chris IS Healed!!!
Isaiah 53:5
1 Peter 2:24
I know that meeting Chris was ordained by God! We met at a George Beverly Shay concert at the Arden Presbyterian Church some years back. Chris sat next to my husband and me. I was immediately drawn to her and felt the Lord leading me to reach out to her. Thru the years we kept in touch on occasion and more frequently recently during her battle with cancer. Her faith for healing during this battle has inpacted my life so much. I count it a great priviledge to have known her. I told her last Friday when I saw her for the last time that I was expecting her to be waiting for me to usher me into His presence when it was my turn. A gallent Christian lady and I shall miss her but know we will meet again. Now she is healed and that is the miracle so many of us have prayed for on her behalf. Thank you Lord, for the priviledge of knowing Chris!
I wish to express my sincerest condolences to all Chris’s family members. I am so sorry that I can’t be at her funeral or burial service as some of you know I would be there if I could make it. May the God of all comfort, comfort you during this time knowing that Chris is with her Maker, God, Saviour and coming King.
Christ was a wonderful Christian lady who persisted throughout her life in searching out the deep riches in God’s Holy Word. She desired to serve Him in Christian Counseling. God used her in many ways known only to Him. One was drawn to Chris and her love for her Lord. She loved to laugh and find the bright and even funny side of situations. She was always positive about the hard situations in life and knew that the Lord was directing her life. She spent many days, months and years just waiting on the Lord to show her the answers.
My long friendship with Chris goes back to Wheaton College, Wheaton IL, when I came back from a short term in Kenya as a missionary nurse to attend Wheaton College (Pre-arranged by my Mission Board). Both Chris and I were in the 5 year program with Wheaton and we ended up in the class of ’64 together. We did many things together including living in Howe Hall, a small residential house next to Edman Chapel. That was a very special year to both of us. We both loved the Lord and bonded there driving to dear old ‘West Sub’ together several times a week where we were working as RN’s to pay our college bills, going to get groceries and doing our laundry together at the small shopping center a few miles from the College campus on Friday nights. Our friendship continued to grow and I counted her among my very best friends. She was more than just a friend. We were prayer partners. She was one of my prayer warriors while on the mission field and also when I returned from Kenya in ’75. She continued to pray for me as I worked in the Home Office of our Mission Board in Phila. PA over the last 11 years and cared for my handicapped mother for 7 of those years.
Chris and I had sweet times of fellowship in her home or in mine whenever we could get together even if it was for an hour or two sometimes when she was in Philadelphia or just passing through, we would meet for a meal.
I was her prayer partner during many trying days and situations through the years that she told only a few. It was her desire to trust the Lord for all her earthly needs and spiritual conquests. She had many times and years of testing but she wanted to be found faithful to her Lord and looking only to Him to see her to the expected end.
I was so glad that I could spend my vacation days with Chris this past week until the Lord chose to close this chapter of her life on earth and receive her into her Heavenly Home where we shall meet surely once again one of this days at God’s appointed time to enjoy Him forever. What a joy it was to be one of Chris’s many friends throughout her lifetime.
I Corinthians 15:51-58
II Corinthians 5:6-11
One of our dearest friends. We feel honored to have known her over the last five years or so; to have shared deeply with her about our hopes, faith, concerns and our love for the Lord. We shall miss her greatly.
We express our sympathy to the family of Chris Hansen. She fought a long and hard battle. She is now free of cancer and in the presence of Jesus where she will never be sick again. How wonderful she had a strong Christian Faith in Jesus.
It was our pleasure to know her for
a few days when she and a friend of her’s, Marilyn Faucette, visited us
some time back. We had a nice time
together and visited Helen, Georgia,
and Brass Town Bald Mountain in Georgia. Those memories will linger
and we will think of her in healther
days. We look forward to seeing her again some day through the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
May God comfort each of you. Thank you Fred for your call. We are sorry we can not attend the funeral.
I’ve only known Chris for a little more than a year. We never had the opportunity to meet in person. I’m a personal friend of her brother Bruce and he told me about her illness and her strong faith in God. I relayed the story to my wife and children and decided to drop her a note, hoping to encourage her to keep the faith and to continue to fight. She answered my note immediately and I knew that I was hearing from a true lady of God. Every comment was upbeat and positive, filled with the hope of a healing. A few months later, I called and talked with her on the phone and felt as if I had known her for a life time. Bruce kept me informed with news about Chris. He would always give me the details about his most recent visit to see her. It has been encouraging to see how Bruce has shown his love and concern for his sister during this time. I have fond memories of Chris and will look forward to the time when I get to meet her in heaven.