74 years later a couple returns to Hotel Laguna to celebrate a complete life

Roland Hansen knew helium wanted to suggest to his girlfriend, Lorraine, astatine a romanticist spot determination on the Southern California coast.

Hansen, who served successful the Navy Air Corps from 1943 to 1945, had returned to Compton, wherever helium had grown up. The 2 met astatine Compton College aft a person who rode to schoolhouse with Hansen told Lorraine helium was “interested” successful her. They dated for a twelvemonth and then, Hansen, who was finishing 2 credits earlier going to dental schoolhouse astatine USC, decided it was clip to popular the question. She had earned a assistance astatine UC Santa Barbara, prompting him to velocity things up.

So, Hansen considered each apt options.

“Sunset Beach had excessively overmuch junk connected it,” helium said. “There were tons of cans and debris. Long Beach had excessively galore lipid rigs. I could person driven further northbound toward the peninsula, but determination weren’t immoderate restaurants oregon hotels on the coast. Where would I person proposed?  In the car? No different places had immoderate allure similar Laguna Beach did.”

That was September 1947 and 2 months later, connected Nov. 26, the mates was joined successful the First Christian Church successful Compton. They honeymooned astatine the Mission Inn successful Riverside. The $8 preservation was fixed to them arsenic a wedding gift.

On Friday, Nov. 26, the couple, on with their 5 children, Craig Hansen, 70,  Ann Sebek, 69, Cary Hansen, 65, Karen Smith, 62, and Kristen Lenders, 56, returned to the Hotel Laguna to observe the 74-year-marriage with a presumption of the formation wherever Hansen proposed.

The Hansen household representation successful the lobby of the Hotel Laguna successful Laguna Beach connected Friday, November 26, 2021, the 74th wedding day of Roland and Lorraine Hansen. From backmost left: Cary Hansen, Roland and Lorriane Hansen, Craig Hansen; beforehand row: Karen Smith, Ann Sebek and Kristen Lenders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Inside a backstage country astatine Larsen, the Hotel Laguna’s precocious renovated restaurant, Lorraine, present 94, and Roland, present 96, reminisced with their children arsenic they looked implicit photos of their galore years together. The pictures and different mementos, including a notebook of paper clipping and a exemplary of a Stearman bi-plane – the level Roland Larsen learned to alert successful the work – laic connected the agelong achromatic linen-lined table.

There were pictures of their longtime location successful Rolling Hills, a gated assemblage connected the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The one-story achromatic ranch location was simple. It had a two-acre gait and a barn and was surrounded by a white, three-rail fence. The mates prided themselves astatine keeping the gait autochthonal to California plants and did their ain landscaping.

“My begetter wanted the onshore to beryllium kept arsenic the archetypal land,” said Sebek, of Irvine. “For 35 years, they ne'er had a gardener. My begetter went to classes astatine UCLA to larn astir California indigenous plants. He and my ma planted each the plants. They did everything to prevention money.

“The California poppy was his favorite, and it is mine,” Sebek said. “We grew up with them each implicit the property. He taught america to perceive to the popular of the poppy erstwhile the seeds travel out.”

And determination were different memories, similar erstwhile the full household went to Europe to observe the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary. It was a six-week camping trip, which the couple’s children said instilled successful them a beingness passionateness of camping and travel. The household rented a camper and stopped astatine spots successful Belgium, England, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.  I

n Denmark, they recovered the religion wherever their ancestors were joined and buried.  That travel besides inspired Hansen to probe his Danish household lineage.

There were besides photos of outdoor achievements, similar erstwhile Hansen turned 60 and acceptable a extremity of hiking Mt. Whitney. Lorraine Hansen and 4 of his children were determination for the conquest.  And, past erstwhile Lorriane Hansen turned 65, the full household hiked to the apical of Half Dome, the famed stone enactment successful Yosemite National Park.

Sebek said she inactive remembers the acquisition and became affectional talking astir what it was for her parent to marque it to the top.

“My mother, each her life, has been a precise beardown woman,” Sebek said. “She ne'er cried. But, erstwhile we got to the apical of Half Dome, she cried astir however we did it together. She gathered each of america unneurotic to archer america however meaningful it was to her.”

Roland Hansen completed his schooling successful dentistry from USC successful 1950 acknowledgment to the GI Bill and specialized successful pediatric dentistry. He aboriginal served arsenic president of the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Society of Dentistry for Children. Lorraine Hansen was a stay-at-home mother.

“My ma and dada were Depression-era babies, they didn’t turn up with a lot,” Sebek said, adding that the outdoors was a mode to person amusive that didn’t outgo much.

Their passionateness for camping, hiking, sportfishing and skiing took them connected trips to the High Sierras and to Mammoth Lakes. They moved determination aft surviving connected the Palos Verdes Peninsula for 35 years. Roland Hansen continued successful dentistry and treated patients astatine the Toiyabe Indian Health Project successful Bishop for 7 years. Lorraine Hansen volunteered astatine the Mammoth Hospital and the mates donated to the section college.

After 10 years and tons of snowy winters,  they relocated to Palm Desert, wherever they spent different decade. More recently, they moved to Orange County and presently unrecorded successful Laguna Niguel.

As their children gathered with them Friday, they reflected connected lessons learned and what their parents’ togetherness taught them.

Craig Hansen, who inactive lives successful the Mammoth Lakes area, said his parent’s passionateness made lifelong exploring important.

“On galore of these household excursions, we would halt astatine ‘points of interest,’ monuments, on roadside turnouts,” helium said of aboriginal household trips. “This was their mode of teaching america astir the past of the area.

“As an adult, I’ve realized the value of exploring,” Craig Hansen said. “It could beryllium an alternate roadworthy to your destination oregon instrumentality backmost home, speechmaking a antithetic writer oregon book, oregon taking connected an extended location repair task connected your own.”

Kristen Lenders, the couple’s youngest child, listed disconnected values she learned from each parent. From her father, determination were many, including that “the outdoors is unrecognized exercise,” “take attraction of your country of the satellite and works things,” and that “photography helps papers it all.”

From her mother, she learned astir each aspects of the home, including that coupons and income are important and truthful is increasing and preserving food.

“She did it all,” Lenders said. “Our location was spotless, and she was ever enactment unneurotic and beautiful. She welcomed Dad aft enactment regular and home-cooked meals were ever eaten unneurotic arsenic a family.”

As she looked astir the table, Friday, her eyes filled with tears arsenic she watched her parents and siblings speech memories.

“This is the epitome of what household looks like,” she said. “For them, it’s full-circle. This is wherever it each started. It’s not lone an anniversary, but a completion of life.”

And, for Lorraine Hansen, the spot her hubby picked to suggest was inactive beauteous special.

“Oh my goodness, this is magnificent,” she said arsenic she looked around. “Then it was conscionable an aged hotel.”

Was she amazed erstwhile helium asked her?

“We were successful emotion and I knew it was coming,” she said, smiling. “I thought, well, wherefore not?”