Nadine Hansen Warner

To view the service, click here

(If the link doesn't work, copy and paste the url here: https://youtu.be/OrwbkWBmXbE )

Nadine Hansen Warner, our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, peacefully passed away on Saturday, October 29, 2022. She was 91 years old.

Nadine was born March 5, 1931, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Ole and Lula Jensen Hansen of Menan. Nadine was the fifth of six daughters—the last child being a son—and was raised in the family home built by her father, a Norwegian immigrant. It was a home of love, hard work, kindness, and faith. Her parents were righteous stewards and they taught Nadine how to “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”. They also believed that eating together would strengthen the family, so it was not uncommon for everyone to wait until their father returned from farming before sharing their evening meal together.

From a young age, Nadine spent many summers with her family at their Deer Parks property, just a couple miles west of Menan. While summering in their one-room cement block home, Nadine and her sister, Janice, spent their days following cows to make sure they stayed out of trouble. In her teen years, Nadine flourished in many areas: she played clarinet in the school band, participated in singing groups, and served as Midway High School’s yearbook editor. When she graduated in 1949, she was one of four high-honor graduates in her class.

After high school, Nadine continued her education at the Idaho Falls Business College where she became an adept secretary, the first to be hired from her class for her quick stenography skills. She later studied bookkeeping and took a correspondence class in writing after she married. She applied her skills at various area businesses, including at the Jefferson County School District where she retired as Treasurer in 1996. Her love of learning continued throughout her life as she voraciously read and studied new subjects. At the time of her passing, she was an emeritus member of the Rigby Study Club.

Nadine met Donald V Warner, son of Bill and Katherine Warner of Rigby, at a community dance. They courted and were later married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on November 2, 1951. They raised six children on the family farm in Rigby, Idaho. Nadine was a caring mother who worked alongside Don at every opportunity.  Her kitchen was always a busy place for conversation and good food. She always kept a supply of desserts, popsicles, and other treats on hand for those Sunday evenings when family and visitors came calling. She is fondly remembered for her delicious cinnamon rolls and for making “by request” treats for each family member on their birthday. Many guests at her table remember eating dishes prepared from Nadine’s garden. She had a green thumb for both food and flowers. Her posterity have warm memories of hunting for raspberries in her lush garden. She was kind to all creatures and had a soft spot for the cows in the back pasture behind the family home; she treated them to watermelon rinds and other treats frequently.

For Nadine, motherhood was about more than bearing children. She wore the many hats of mother with a kind and cheerful disposition. To her family and the other souls lucky enough to know her, her mothering made her somewhat of an expert in medicine, psychology, religion, teaching, music, literature, art, finance, decorating, hair styling, chauffeuring, sports, culinary arts, and so much more. She was so humble about her contributions to people and their lives. Never prone to self-aggrandizement, her modesty dulled her ability to see the great ripples of her kindness and love. She made a child feel heard, a wallflower feel seen, and a stranger feel embraced. Her mothering and her ability to lift hearts through a tasty treat or a kind word was everything.

From an early age, Nadine loved music. As one of the originators of the women’s singing group, the Chansonettes, she performed with many groups and church choirs throughout her life. She was an articulate wordsmith who penned and shared many tributes and stories through rhyme. She cultivated a love of sewing in high school when she started making her own clothes and later sewed her own wedding dress. Nadine was not afraid to try new things and painted the walls of her home, small ceramics, and many paint-by-number canvases while residing at Fairwinds. As a young mother, her Christmas window paintings frequented not only her home but the storefronts of many businesses in downtown Rigby.

Nadine was a stalwart example of service, humility, and kindness. She was also a model of poise and class in her demeanor, speech, and dress. She was a great woman of faith who loved her Savior, Jesus Christ, and tried her best to follow His example. She was the first person you’d call for help and the last one to leave. As an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she served in nearly every capacity available to women. She and Don served as missionaries in the Canada Halifax Mission on Prince Edward Island from 1997-1999, as stake leaders in the Ricks College 4th Stake for eight years, and as baptismal workers in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple for ten years.

Whether it was making turtle chocolates, homemade doughnuts, or her father’s Norwegian “grit-med-skover-po” dish, Nadine proudly carried on the righteous traditions of her ancestors with her posterity. She was the ultimate cheerleader to them, attending many concerts, fundraising events, bridal or baby showers, sports games, rodeos, weddings, and graduations. Her love and support of her posterity have been incredible blessings to them.

Nadine bravely embraced her mortal graduation with thoughts of reuniting with loved ones. She was preceded in death by her husband (Don), her sons (Dennis & Richard), her grandchildren Steven, Shannon, and Joe, her parents (Ole and Lula Hansen), and siblings Dorothy, Thora, Martha, Zelma, and David.

She is survived by her children Van H (Karen), William Roger (Kristine), Julie Kaye (Reino) Macki, and DeAnne, her daughter-in-law Joyce (Richard), as well as her sister Janice (Butch) Mueller. She is also survived by fourteen grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and a couple of spoiled “granddogs”.

The family extends warm appreciation to the loving staff members at Fairwinds - Sand Creek, Solace Hospice, and to Nadine’s many friends and neighbors for their thoughtful care and kindness to our beloved Nadine.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, at 11:00 a.m.at the Rigby Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 258 West 1st North, Rigby, Idaho. The family will receive visitors prior to the funeral service at the Rigby Stake Center on Monday, November 7, 2022, from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m., and again on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, from 9:30-10:45 a.m. Following the funeral service, interment will take place at the Annis Little Butte Cemetery.