Nicholas Randall Hansen aka "Nicky" was a blue eyed, blond hair boy everyone loved. When out and about with his mom, dad ,or brother Aric, random strangers would come up to Nicky and say, "oh what a beautiful child” or "isn't he precious" or numerous other positive comments. He was a boy full of energy, excitement, curiosity. He had a knack for making people laugh and making them oh so happy!! Nicky also had a knack for getting hurt and was accident prone, as can be seen/witnessed by his black eye on his 2nd birthday photos. One Saturday morning, July 3, 1981, after working on his railroad job all night, Nicky’s dad came home and was very tired. Nicky's dad generally went down to look in on both Nicky and Aric in bed when sleeping, as they shared a bedroom downstairs. Often times he would find them watching Saturday cartoons in the TV room and would come say hi and talk a little before going to bed. This Saturday morning was different, it was if there had been a "evil spell" cast on his dad. He was so tired he went right upstairs to bed rather than checking on the boys. This would come back to haunt Nicky's dad for years, wishing he would have looked in on his sons, not knowing he would never get to see his special two and half year old son Nicky again. While his dad was sleeping, their mother Shannon took Aric and Nicky up to their Grandma Ruth's and Grandpa Ed's (aka Lloyd's house )where they had a very nice swimming pool. Nicky's dad had gone to sleep when he got home from work at 7:30 am and woke up at noon and found a note written for him from Nicky's mom saying that she had taken both boys up to swim and to come up and join them when he woke up. Once again Nicky's dad who never slept past noon on Saturday, was very tired and went back to bed instead of going up to the pool (that "evil spell" was at work again). Meanwhile back at the pool,  Nicky's mom told Aric and Nicky to get out of the pool and dry off so they could get in to the car dry, and go home. Somehow during this time it was once again like another "evil spell" was cast on Nicky's mom and grandma, both saying after the horrible accident, that it was like a shade in a window had been pulled and no one saw anything. Nicky’s mom, who was standing along the pool and Grandma Ruth who was in the pool on a floaty, noticed Nicky was not along the pool and asked Aric where Nicky was. Aric being only 5 years old started going towards the pool and Nicky's mom said he's not in the pool, go see if he's in the house with Grandpa. While Aric was going into the house looking for Nicky and Grandpa, Nicky's Mom saw little Nicky laying in the bottom of the pool in the deep end. She dove in and pulled him out of the pool. Grandpa Lloyd and their neighbor, Bill Marek were doing their best, giving CPR and trying to keep little Nicky alive, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Nicky's Mom had called Nicky's dad, waking him up and frantically saying "Nicky drowned!” His dad raced up to the pool, beating the ambulance there. Nicky's mom and dad got into the ambulance after it arrived, riding with Nicky to the hospital. Everyone was trying to save this precious little boy, with Minnesota State Patrol blocking the intersection at County Point and another State Patrol leading the ambulance to the hospital in Hastings. They were reaching speeds of 90 mph on that 30 mph road with distress calls of “blue boy, blue boy” being dispatched over the radio. Doctors at the hospital tried to save him too, but despite everyone helping, everyone hoping and everyone praying, it ended like the story of Humpty Dumpty,

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses
And all the King's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

This beautiful little boy could not be fixed, he could not be saved, and he could not come back home to us ever again. This made everyone who knew and loved him so very sad. His Grandpa Vince who had spent 3 1/2 years in WWII, who had received 2 purple hearts, and a silver star, a man who many had never seen cry, cried. Losing little Nicky made him cry and in his grief he wrote Nicky this poem.

"LETTER TO NICKY"

It seems a long time since you left me my friend,
But I hope someday we will meet again.

You left me so quickly I could not understand,
The Lord must know more than this lonely old man.

I was hurt and so angry when you went away,
My faith in the Lord was real shaky that day.

I know that I told you that big boys don't cry,
But I'll have to admit I had told a white lie.

I had planned on more time to spend here with you,
The tales I could tell, the things we would do.

I know that I miss you and wish you were here,
My memories and pictures always bring a few tears,

Yet I know you're happy, I'll try not to be sad,
For I'll soon be there with you, Lots of Love, Your Grandad.

Grandpa Vince Hansen joined Nicky on September 19, 1997
Grandma Henrietta (Henrye) Hansen joined Nicky October 13, 1998
Grandpa Ed Blake (Lloyd) joined Nicky
Grandma Ruth Blake joined Nicky