Appeared in the Spring/Summer 2025 Gazette
by Holly Marihugh

Jim Hansen, undated.

Jim Hansen was a man whose life was thoroughly embedded with his beloved community of Winnetka, say many who knew him well. Hansen passed away in January this year at the age of 84, and his legacy was one of raising his hand to volunteer, lending his rich professional expertise in industrial design, and making generous contributions to local organizations.

Winnetka Historical Society (WHS) was one of the lucky non-profits that benefited from Hansen’s gifts. In 2001, he spearheaded a $2 million capital campaign, which funded the two most ambitious projects WHS has ever undertaken: buying the museum house at 411 Linden Street and moving the historic Schmidt-Burnham Log House to Crow Island Woods.

Winnetka Architect Ken Behles, who worked with Hansen throughout that pivotal time in WHS’ history, remembers that Hansen always went above and beyond.

“My biggest memory of Jim is that he never said, ‘No,’” Behles says about his time serving as the Architect of Record during the Log House move. “Jim was the guy everyone went to and said, ‘We need this,’ or ‘How can we accomplish that?’ Whenever there was an issue or a roadblock, Jim was there. He always found a way.”

Joan Evanich was WHS Museum and Log House Director in the early 2000s and remembers that besides initiating the capital campaign, Hansen was always available during the climb toward that financial goal.

“Jim provided us with support in terms of branding our idea and designing all the brochures and materials we would use to reach potential donors,” Evanich says. “He was incredibly generous with his time, expertise, and with his own pocketbook.”

Indeed, Jim and his wife Carol are listed in the highest category of donors for that capital campaign, and a front exhibit room inside the WHS Museum is named for them. They’ve remained deeply committed to WHS through the years.

Jim and Carol Hansen, undated.

From an early age, Hansen showed a passion for design and creativity and graduated from the University of Illinois with a BFA in Industrial Design and an MFA in Art and Design. In 1968, he co-founded the company Source/Inc. which grew into an acclaimed design consultancy, working on innovation, branding, and packaging for companies like Kraft, Quaker, and Weber.

Nan Greenough got to know Hansen in the 1990s when she and Carol Hansen volunteered for the Antiques and Modernism shows as Woman’s Board members of the Community House Winnetka. Later, she observed Hansen’s planning and fundraising prowess for the WHS move of the Log House and purchase of its museum. Later on, Greenough collaborated with Hansen when she served on the Community House Board of Governors, and he envisioned a re-branding identity for the organization, revitalizing its public face.

“Jim had an extraordinary intelligence combined with his creativity,” Greenough says. “He was extremely talented artistically, but he also was an extraordinary strategic planner, and he was generous about backing it up with time and money.”

Hansen’s love of design extended to the historic home he and Carol shared at 822 Bryant Avenue. Designed by Architect Augustus Higginson, the 1902 house is identified as Shingle Style due to its covering of wood shingles from roof to foundation. The interior was distinctly Arts and Crafts, with extensive use of wood and hand-wrought metalwork. Hansen purchased the home in 1979.

822 Bryant, 2025.

“Jim and Carol lived in this incredible historic house,” Evanich says. “He loved architecture, design, and antiques. There’s a peaked ceiling in the living room, which has an intricate root pattern tying it to John Root, the Columbian Exposition architect.” (John Wellborn Root’s connection to the home is that his daughter, Margaret, and her husband, Edwin Stanton Fetcher, were its first residents.) The historic home was listed for sale in March of 2025.

The Hansens were also big cheerleaders of and contributors to Community House Winnetka and other non-profits around Chicagoland.

“Jim had this sense of community,” Behles says. “He lived within walking distance of the Community House and has a track record of philanthropy with it and the Historical Society. He was really active in hyper-local non-profits. He was such a great guy, and people loved working with him.”

For more than two decades, Joan Evanich has been friends with the Hansens, and when reflecting on his legacy, she says: “Jim was incredibly insightful when advising local nonprofits. He was able to listen to all points of view and then craft an elegant solution that was acceptable to all. He was a gift to the community.” ■