Dr. William D. Hann

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Service was hallmark of Hann’s life
Dr. William D. Hann was actively involved in serving the community.
Dr. Hann was active in the Boy Scouts and the Black Swamp Arts Festival, and with his role as a professor
in the biology department at Bowling Green State University. He died Sunday (May 31, 2009) at his
Bowling Green home at the age of 80.
He was a 48-year member of the Boy Scouts of America.
"He will be long-remembered for what he has done for the young people of this community," said
George Nicholson, who worked with him in the Scouting program over the last 10 years. "He was
tremendous at what he did."
Though Mr. Nicholson says they came from different worlds, "The one thing that tied us together was
our belief in God and belief in young people.
"He was an amazing man – just a great, great person," Mr. Nicholson summarized.
Dr. Hann also served as a member of the national Boy Scouts of America religious relations committee, and
was the immediate past-president of the National Lutheran Association on Scouting. Dr. Hann was a
recipient of the Lamb Award of the Lutheran Church, the Wood District Award of Merit and the Silver
Beaver award. He had served as chairman of Wood District and scoutmaster of Troop 345, in addition to
many other committee chairmanships.
One of his special pleasures was coordinating the work of the "Dawn Patrol" for the Black Swamp
Arts Festival. He also was a charter member of the Bowling Green Curling Club.
A veteran of the Korean war, he served in the military for a total of 37 years, including with the D.C.
National Guard and the Army Reserves, and retiring with the rank of colonel in the Medical Service
Corps. Dr. Hann was a member of the Korean War Veterans Association, Military Officers Association of
America, and the Reserve Officers Association. He served as the ROA liaison for the BGSU Reserve
Officers Training Corps.
He joined the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences at BGSU in 1967, retiring in 1992. He
helped develop and direct programs in blood banking and medical technology, and also mentored numerous
students earning their master and doctorate degrees.
He previously worked several years in research at the National Naval Medical Center and the National
Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
He was a member of Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, a 50-plus year member of American Society for
Microbiology, and a life member of Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.
He also was a member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Bowling Green, where he was coordinator of the
crucifers, and had served on the church council.
Dr. Hann was the first president of Northwest Ohio Lung Association, and treasurer of the Ohio Lung
Association from 1975-1985. He also directed the swine flu immunization program for Wood County in 1976.

He was a member of the Society of Civil War Surgeons, National Museum of Civil War Medicine, and Greater
Toledo Civil War Roundtable, and frequently attended national conferences on Civil War medicine.
The 1946 graduate of Eastern High School in Washington, D.C., also graduated in 1952 from Wilson
Teachers’ College, also in Washington. He earned his master’s degree in bacteriology in 1956, and in
1964 his Ph.D. in microbiology at George Washington University School of Medicine.
Born July 11, 1928 in Baltimore, Md., to William Levi and Helene Charlotte (Krebs) Hann, he married Emma
Osgood Jones on April 11, 1953 in Pittsfield, Mass. She survives.
Also surviving are two sons, Alexander D., Bowling Green, and Randolph W., Weston; two daughters, Susan
E. Cross, Minneapolis, and Christine L. Hann, Kalamazoo, Mich.; and three grandchildren, Ian L. Cross,
Catherine E. Hann and Cortney M. Hann.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Ruth E. Hartley, and a half brother, Franklin H. Hann.
Burial with military honors will be at Oak Grove Cemetery at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. A celebration of life
service will follow at 11 a.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, with a luncheon served in the church’s
Family Life Center.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 3 to 8 p.m. at Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home & Crematory.
The family requests no flowers. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Northwest Ohio, 30000 E. River Road,
Perrysburg, Ohio 43551; Black Swamp Arts Festival, P.O. Box 532, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402; or Erie
Shores Council, Boy Scouts of America, P.O. Box 337, Toledo, Ohio 43697-0337.
Condolences may be sent at www.hannemanfh.com.

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