Norman Duane Hanson, a great puzzler with a head full of history, a believer in a hard day's work, and a loving family man, died suddenly on July 22. He was 76.

Norm was found most often with his head inside a newspaper's pages, his pen pointed over a crossword puzzle, or at the ready to give the answer forJeopardy! before the contestants. But he was kind if you watched with him and held in the correct response until you had a chance to try.

He worked for 43 years at the U.S. Postal Service before retirement, and people liked to partner with him on the sorting machines because he got the job done efficiently without fuss and was a reliable, supportive coworker. He dug people's stuck letters out of nooks and crannies and made sure they zipped through the churning sorters. He knew zip codes for the places all over the country and would name them off on road trips. He even spied a few pieces of mail in the sorter headed to his daughter and wrote "Hi from Dad" on the envelopes.

He worked overnight for years when his daughters were young and was often eating his "dinner" when the girls had breakfast before school. When he ate a sandwich, they wanted a sandwich. Or pizza. Or meatloaf. They still like dinner food for breakfast. In the years he worked in post offices as a window clerk, he reveled in asking customers about their day as he mailed their packages and gave them books of stamps. He had a way of disarming people with his curiosity and chattiness — his granddaughter called him the "life of the party" recently after her graduation cookout when he genially questioned new acquaintances all about their jobs, kids, favorite concerts, what they were watching on TV … . At funerals when people were milling around glum and awkward, he got groups of them talking about the person who died, bring smiles in sadness.

Norm met his wife, Barbara Ellen, through her cousin who served with him in the U.S. Army in Germany after the Vietnam War processing teletype intelligence reports for a three-star general. His sergeant, Jim Ream, says the team handled reports on "spy stuff," and Norm, a specialist fourth class, had a "super duper clearance." Since Norm was a great talker and smart guy, Jim says, the group would pick a topic and argue for hours. Norm tried out being a high school teacher with his history degree from Eastern Michigan University. It wasn't for him. At points, he briefly sold insurance, doughnuts, and groceries he delivered for Jewel Tea.

He wore a baby blue tuxedo with a ruffled shirt when he married Barbie, an Ohioan who pulled a blue-to-the-core Michigander to make their home the heart of Ohio State buckeye country. He and his younger brother, Alan, share the habit of yelling at the television when their teams are on: the Wolverines, Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings and Lions. Their wives leave the area.

Barbara loves Norman's grey-blue eyes that stood out on the rare occasion he removed his glasses. He had a funny mustache for a long time that she finally got him to shave, and in their kitchen in a little blue house from their early family-of-four days, you'd find him getting a haircut from Barb (trained as a cosmetologist) or struggling to get mustard out of the bottle, one time spraying it all over the curtains Barb hung. Their daughters grew up listening to their parents sing their favorites in the car: Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond and John Denver.

Norman was born March 7, 1949, in Coldwater, Michigan, to Cecil and Lillian (Velliquette) Hanson and was the seventh of eight children — with only one girl, his dear sister Karen, who let Norm live with her in college until he got too messy. Karen Jahnke has passed away along with his brothers Virgil, Larry, Phil and Milton "Jim". His parents were onion farmers when he was young, and after Cecil passed when Norm was 16, Lillian finished raising the younger children, with infinite patience, a quick smile, and often fresh Michigan blueberries with meals. His mother preceded him in death, in 1999.

Norman is survived by Barbara (Archer), his wife of 50 years; daughters Anne Hanson and Rose Shilling; and son-in-law William Shilling. He was Paw Paw to grandchildren Riley, Grace, Evelyn, Madeline, and Wyatt; and great-grandson Rowan. He also is survived by brothers Alan and Michael "Mickey"; mother-in-law Julia Archer; and many beloved nieces, nephews, sisters- and brothers-in-law, and cousins.

Calling hours are 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 30, at Pfeifer-Woodyard Funeral Services in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Remembrance service at 6 p.m. Brief informal reception after.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the American Heart Association.

Pfeifer Woodyard Funeral Home is honored to serve the family.