Ulrich Hans Paul Hanf

Ulrich Hans Paul Hanf Aug. 15, 1934 - May 6, 2013 Ulrich Hans Paul Hanf, 78, passed away at home with family by his side. He remained active until his final days. He is survived by Helvi, his wife of 45 years, by his children Oliver and wife, Shari; Andreas and wife, Carrie; and Stefanie and husband Mike; by his six grandchildren Jessica, Sophia, Nicole, Hannah, Jake, and Alex; and by his brothers in Germany, Erhard and wife, Kristin; and Albrecht and wife, Anneliese. Uli was born in Rossleben, Germany to Erich and Charlotte Hanf. He grew up during the WWII era, which shaped the remainder of his life. As a 10 year old he had very strong nationalistic feelings and certain points of views that changed dramatically as he grew up. In the last few years of his life, he could be heard telling many thrilling and unbelievable stories of his childhood, which came into sharp focus in the final months of his life. On his 15th birthday, Uli began his three-year apprenticeship at two separate farms in Northern Germany. He honed his craft by working on farms in Switzerland and England, before attending Agricultural College in Witzenhausen, Germany. During this time he attended many soccer and track and field meets in Europe, that he would often travel to by bicycle. In 1960 he moved to the United States. In 1962, Uli traveled around the world by boat. He made stops in Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Ceylon, Egypt, and Italy. He then returned to California and was the head grounds keeper at Camp Beaver Brook for three summers. He met his future wife, Helvi Dexne, in the winter of 1966 during a return trip to Germany, and invited her back to California where they married in 1967. They moved to Pleasant Hill in 1969 to the house where they raised their children and lived for the remainder of his life. Uli started up his own landscaping business and was a gardener until he retired at the age of 70. He was very dependable, loyal, and hard working. For many years, he worked six days a week. Uli was Andy's youth soccer coach for many seasons and continued on even through his high school career. He enjoyed watching his children compete in different sporting events. He attended his children's soccer games and track meets all the way through their college careers. He traveled as far as Emporia, Kansas to watch his daughter, Stefanie, compete at the NCAA championships. His love of track & field continued as he followed and supported the Chico State team where Oliver is head coach. After Uli retired, he resumed his world travels, including trips to Germany, Hawaii, Alaska, Italy, Spain, and China. He enjoyed riding his bike for up to 2 hours at a time and going for long walks in the early morning. He even biked to his chemo-therapy appointments. He spent hours working in his yard and garden. He had a love for music and took many trips to the symphony in San Francisco and Oakland. He had a profound thirst of knowledge and read many books; most were based on the topics of religion, politics, and philosophy. A sign of a good book was one that was either underlined or highlighted in many places and filled with definitions written in the margins by Uli's hand. He attended many speeches by influential figures from around the world, such as Mikhail Gorbachov, Noam Chomski, and Dr. Jane Goodall. He was an avid supporter of public TV and was diligent about getting his news from a variety of sources; local, national and international news stations including those based in Germany, China, and even the Middle East. This was consistent with his worldly views that all humans deserve equal rights. He spent many hours on the internet reading the German newspaper and following sports including soccer, track, winter sports, and formula one racing. He enjoyed watching his grandchildren perform in dance productions, gymnastic meets, soccer games, swim meets, and plays. He was a huge track fan and attended countless college invitationals and championships, Olympic, and World Championships track meets. He especially was a big Chico State track fan and was honored with a scholarship in his name: the Uli Hanf Track and Field Scholarship, at Chico State University. In his final months he continued to follow Chico State track and field closely, even memorizing the results. Two days before his passing, Uli attended the CCAA championship track meet. He was able to stay for the awards ceremony to witness Chico State receive both the men's and women's championship banners and to see Oliver named the men's and women's " CCAA Conference Coach of the Year". He was greeted by many coaches and athletes throughout the meet and was thanked for his years of support. A private celebration of life ceremony will be held in June. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Uli's name to one of his favorite charities: MECA (The Middle East Children's Alliance) 1101 8th Street, Suite 100, Berkeley, CA 94710 or on-line: [email protected] or checks payable to "UF-Uli Hanf Women's Track and Field Scholarship", mailed to Chico State Athletics-0999, 400 West 1st Street Chico, CA 95928-9924. Private Services