Hans remembered for service and as ‘jack of all trades’

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Richard “Doc” Hans lived a life of service.

He served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and later in the Nebraska National Guard, on multiple community boards, on the Seward City Council and he worked at the Nebraska National Guard Museum.

“He was a jack of all trades,” his friend Gerald “Jerry” Meyer said. Jerry is the historian at the NENG museum.

On Nov. 24, Doc passed away unexpectedly. But his friends and family remember a man who may have had a tough exterior, but was kind when you got to know him.

Doc, who also went by Dick, was the only boy in a family with five sisters. He met his future brother-in-law Dick Miers when he was about 9 years old.

That was when Miers began dating Dick’s sister Della. Miers said he remembered the young Doc as ornery and said he once caught him throwing snowballs at his car.

“I took off running after him,” Miers said.

It took him two and a half blocks to catch Doc.

“He was laughing the whole time,” Mier said. So he put his arm around him and they walked back home.

Miers also saw Doc transition into his military service. Doc joined the Army in 1966 and was stationed at Fort Bliss.

“He did not like Army meals,” Miers said.

Instead, Doc lived off snacks he bought at the cantina.

Doc later transferred to the Nebraska National Guard in Seward, where he later met Ken Meyer, another guard member.

Many did not know how Dick received his nickname, Doc, but Ken does.

He said the guard conducts annual field training exercises. One person is charged with carrying a first-aid kit, just in case. Dick so happened to be that person.

When another member had a minor injury, like a cut finger, they’d call for “Doc,” and the name stuck.

“He was the guy who had everything you needed,” Ken said.

Before retiring, Dick worked at Rolfsmeier Motors from 1968 to 2006 and at Meyer Automotive from 2006 to 2016. He also volunteered at the Crossmakers of Seward.

Ken said he moved to Seward in 1977, and Doc helped him get to know his unit.

He also said Doc was a big help later in life as a city council member. Ken serves on the city’s cemetery board. He said Doc helped start the veterans cemetery in Seward by assisting in writing its rules and regulations.

Ken said Doc would look into issues to help get things done.

“He was a great listener,” Ken said. “He served the community in many ways.”

Mayor Josh Eickmeier said Dick was always a good friend and a good council member.

“He was somebody who definitely cared about the community,” Eickmeier said. “You talk about the spirit of Seward—I think of Dick Hans as someone who embodied that.”

Eickmeier said Dick somehow knew more about what was going on in Seward than he did.

Sharon Hambeck, head volunteer at the NENG museum, said Doc did not take his council position lightly.

Jerry said Doc knew all the numbers and read through information provided to the council before their meetings.

“He was prepared,” Jerry said. “He educated me a couple of times.”

Through the National Able Network, Doc began working part time at the NENG museum. Jerry said with his help, the museum could be open for special visitors on the weekends. He mostly worked as a docent, or guide, for visitors.

“He was always kind of that guy who would be there when you needed him,” Jerry said. “He’d do just about anything for you.”

Doc lost part of his leg to diabetes. After his amputations, Miers said Doc kept going.

“He was rambunctious,” Miers said. “He didn’t let anything hold him back.”

Jerry remembers Doc the same way. Doc got around on a motorized scooter and moved chairs for museum events and shoveled snow along the sidewalk.

Jerry said he had to tell Doc to slow down when he was showing groups around the museum because his chair would move too quickly for the guests.

“He kind of had a gruff exterior, but really he was kind of a marshmallow inside,” Jerry said.

Jerry and Miers said Doc could be quiet, but when he spoke, you knew he had thought about what he was going to say.

“I don’t think he was ever afraid to speak his mind,” Miers said.

Doc could hold his own in conversations, Jerry said. He said Doc would give people a hard time to see what kind of response he’d get, but Jerry would give Doc a hard time right back.

“It’d look like we were arguing all the time, but we weren’t. We were always constantly bantering back and forth,” Jerry said. “That was him.”

Jerry said giving people a tough time was a sign of love for Doc.

Hambeck said she was going to miss his remarks.

“It’s going to leave a big hole in this place,” Hambeck said.

His gruff exterior kept student volunteers on task, Jerry said, as well as contractors doing work on the museum.

“He kept people honest,” Jerry said.

He said all the work Doc did for the museum was for the betterment of Seward.

As a result, the museum is better because Doc knew who to talk with to get things done, Jerry said. For example, he helped the museum get lights with banner arms.

Because Doc moved around on a motorized scooter, Jerry said it pushed the museum to consider people with disabilities when making updates. He said a future platform was designed with Doc in mind in order to make it accessible for everyone.

“Doc was always there. You always assumed he’d be there,” Jerry said. “We’ve lost a person who really put the community first.”

In addition to being his brother-in-law, Miers said Dick was one of his best friends. Doc lived with Della and Dick Miers for a while, and was always welcome in their home.

“It was his house as much as ours,” Miers said.

Doc’s sisters Marjorie Junge and Della passed away June 25, 2013, and May 6, 2017, respectively.

“He gets to be with his two sisters now,” Miers said. “He’s in good hands with the Lord.”

amanda@sewardindependent.com