Barbara Hansen

Barbara Jean Hansen (Lundeen) passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 70 during the early morning hours of October 19, 2026, at her home in Shafer, MN. Barb was born on October 1, 1956 in Saint Paul, MN, the third child of the late Marlys (Wilcox) and Gerald Lundeen. She attended Farnsworth Elementary School K-4 in Saint Paul until the family moved to Center City, MN in 1966. Barb then completed grades 5-12 at Chi Hi and Chisago Lakes High Schools, and graduated with the Chisago Lakes High School Class of 1974. 

Barb enjoyed music. In her teenage years she liked listening to rock and roll, and every Saturday you could find her and her sister watching a favorite morning television show American Bandstand. Later in life she continued to enjoy oldies from the 60's and 70's and, in addition, old time country music. And not only did Barb enjoy listening to music, but she also performed as a clarinetist in her high school concert band and jazz ensemble, and taught herself to play the organ and accordion. Early on Barb decided to follow her mother and sister into a caregiving career, and while in high school she worked as a dietary aide setting up food trays for residents at Parmly Residence in Chisago City, MN. Following high school, Barb immediately entered the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program at Anoka-Hennepin Vocational Technical College (currently Anoka-Ramsey Community College) in Coon Rapids, MN, and while attending Anoka-Hennepin, she also worked as a nursing assistant at Parmly. Following graduation in July 1975, Barb began her 45 year nursing career. Her first LPN job was as a charge nurse, under RN supervision, in the Chisago Lakes Hospital Extended Care Unit. Here she met Ronald Hansen, who frequently visited his grandfather at the facility. They married in 1978, and to this union three children were born; Nikki, Jeremy and Ben. After 12 years of marriage they divorced in 1990. In 1988, Barb began her employment at the Linnea Residential Home in Chisago City, first working as part of the direct caregiving staff, and later as the LPN Healthcare Coordinator serving persons with developmental and physical disabilities and other challenges. Her employment with Linnea continued for the next 32 years where she provided and ensured excellent care for every resident until 2020. Barb was a compassionate caregiver efficiently managing resident care. She was a strong advocate always focusing on what was in the best interest of her residents and received much appreciation from their family members. In particular, staff members enjoyed working with her and learned much from her training and leadership. 

In 1998, Barb met her longtime companion, David Mellgren, and she then discovered a new-found love of camping. Together for 28 years, she and Dave enjoyed camping over holiday weekends from May to September at various campgrounds in Wisconsin. For the past 10 years they camped with her brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Jen, near Cameron, WI on the Chetek chain of lakes where they enjoyed many pontoon rides and always a grilled chicken cookout during the weekend with family and friends. At home, Barb enjoyed cooking and was a top-notch cook who collected, refined, and created hundreds of recipes. She canned pickles, beets, tomatoes, made salsa, and froze corn and green beans for use throughout the year. These were labors of love. A family tradition passed on to her by her mother. Barb was especially well-known for her hot pickles and during summer camping excursions she received numerous orders for the next year from fellow campers. Freezing, canning and pickling kept her busy every harvest season and she planted her own hot peppers to use for seasoning. Barb was also admired for her well-kept yard which included whimsical yard decorations and colorful flower beds planted every spring, along with many hanging flower baskets, She always loved decorating her home inside and outside for the holidays, especially at Christmas. With all she was doing in retirement, Barb still found time to work part-time as a cashier at Emily Jo's Mini Mart near her Shafer home and she received many compliments for her friendly customer service. Barb loved! Caregiving with a passion. She loved! The Vikings with a passion. And she took particular pleasure in preparing holiday dishes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter family gatherings. In fact, her greatest joy was her family. Her greatest gifts were her children and grandchildren. And she always had a place in her home for her granddaughters' frequent sleepovers as they were growing up. Barb will be remembered as a kind, caring and giving person by all who knew her. Even through hardships and struggles, she persevered and kept on giving. 

Barb was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her children: Nikki Hansen of Center City, MN, Jeremy Hansen (Jody) of Taylors Falls, MN and Ben Hansen (Katie Krier) of Cambridge, MN, three grandchildren: Alix (Jacob) Fuller of Rogers, MN, Kaylee Hansen of Fargo, ND, and Kenadee Hansen of Taylors Falls, siblings: Gary Lundeen (Beth) of Austin, TX, Debra Lundeen of Mahtomedi, MN, Gregory Lundeen (Dottie) of Taylors Falls, James Lundeen (Jen) of Cameron, WI, and her longtime companion David Mellgren, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.

A Celebration of Barb’s Life will be held on Sunday, November 1 from 1-5 PM at the Shafer Town Hall (18259 St. Croix Trail, Taylors Falls, MN 55084). In honor of Barb’s love of the Minnesota Vikings, all are encouraged to wear their Vikings gear or something purple. A private committal service will be held at the Sunrise Cemetery in Sunrise, MN. Arrangements were with the Grandstrand Funeral Home of Lindstrom.