Steven E. Hanna

Steven Hanna, 74, of Crystal Lake, Iowa, passed away Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at MercyOne Hospice of North Iowa in Mason City.

Celebration of Life gathering will be held from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM on Saturday, August 15, 2020 at the Crystal Lake Fire Station, 225 North Street in Crystal Lake.  

Steven Earl Hanna was born on August 16, 1945 in Woden, Iowa to Harold and Vivian (Dahlby) Hanna.  He attended country school and graduated from Buffalo Center High School with the class of 1963.

On September 1, 1963 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth (Betty) Buns at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Woden.  To this union four sons were born, Tim, Mark, Tracy and Luke.

Steve farmed with his dad for three years.  He went into the excavation business and moved to Woden.  Steve and Betty owned and operated Hanna’s Place a café and bar from 1991 – 1995.  Steve was employed by Hancock County until 2014.

Steve was a member of the Woden Fire Department and Woden Commercial Club.  They moved to Crystal Lake in 1996.  In 1998 they went into a joint venture with Jeff Fischer to start a campground which Steve developed and operated until 2019.  In 2018 Steven and sons bought the Crystal Lake Grain Company and developed it to start a new campground.

Steve and camping friends got a grant and raised money to put up a shelter house in City Park. They also raised money and did the labor to pour cement sidewalks along the south side of the lake.  They also got a grant and matched the funds by serving food for RAGBRI to build a Memorial gazebo, which son Luke built, on the point south of the shelter house. Steve and some citizens also tore down the old lumber yard and cleaned up the site.

Steve made a lot of new friends from the campground and said that the success of the campground was because of them and their willingness to take vacation time to help Steve with his projects to which we owe them a big thank you!

He is survived by his wife, Betty of 56 years; sons Tim, Tracy and Luke; grandchildren Layla and Adderly; great grandchildren Alicia, Mark and Opie; his siblings Janeane, Vance and wife Regina, Keith and wife Kendra;  sister-in-law, Jackie and husband, Larry and brother-in-law, Lannie; along with nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, parents-in-law, son Mark, brother Jerry, sisters-in-law, Judy Hanna, Diane Fortner, and Evelyn Hanna and brothers-in-law Jim Wilson and Denny Flugum.