Dr. Demento's Wife Passes

Condolences go out to the great DR. DEMENTO on the passing of his wife of 34 years,SUE HANSEN, who died at 12:30a on SUNDAY, SEPT. 10th, after a month-long illness at the age of 65. In a FACEBOOK post, DEMENTO (real name: BARRET HANSEN) wrote:

"Sue saved my life and my sanity at a time when I was sorely tempted by the fast times of the L.A. radio and record business in the 1980s. We never had children (our mutual decision, for several reasons) but richly enjoyed each other's company, and I learned a whole lot about life and love from her.

Sue was born and raised in Council Bluffs, IA, and moved to Los Angeles a year after high school. She and I were introduced by my L. A. neighbors in the 1970s, Fred and Delores Schaefer. Sue and Fred worked together in the Los Angeles yard office of the Union Pacific Railroad, and we first laid eyes on each other when Fred offered to give me a tour of the yard office. (As you may know I'm something of a rail fan, so I was eager for that). After a couple of get-togethers at the Schaefers' house Sue and I began dating in 1979. We were married in Fern Grotto, Kauai, Hawaii in 1983, and our reception in early 1984 drew hundreds of people to the Variety Arts Club in L.A., where the great Johnny Otis and his band capped the celebration with their fabulous R&B sounds.

By that time Sue had been promoted to training officer for the railroad, but soon after our wedding the training operation was moved to the Midwest. Since I couldn't leave L.A. at that time due to the show, Sue opted to leave the railroad and stay with me in L.A. For several years she worked for a business that imported quartz crystals and carvings from Brazil, distributing them to local metaphysical bookstores and head shops. She then volunteered to take over the Demento Society, the show's fan club and merchandising operation. She ran that very successfully through the 1990s and into the new century. If you got one of our membership kits in those years, Sue probably packed and shipped it.

Sue began having health problems in 2009, when she had an attack of food poisoning that lingered for a very long time. One day in 2011, when I was out of town, she tried to lift a large box of papers, and suffered a hernia which led to serious consequences requiring emergency surgery. She had barely recovered from that when she began having the back and knee problems which plagued her from then on. She had to sleep in a recliner, making it difficult for us to travel together. We continued to enjoy a happy life at home, though, until she became ill early last month. On August 15th she was admitted to the hospital. Despite their efforts including emergency surgery and dialysis, her condition continued to get worse. I was totally unprepared for how fast she was taken from me. The Dr. Demento Show will go on (and you will continue to hear Sue's voice saying "The Doctor is In!" at the start of each show) but this will be a very hard one to get over.

« see more Net News