By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Harry A. Hanson, a noted certified public accountant and businessman, died Monday in Honolulu. He was 90.
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| Harry A. Hanson was an accountant whose clients included many key firms. |
Hanson was born in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois School of Business in 1931. With jobs scarce because of the Depression, Hanson went to New York and worked as a seaman.
He worked his way to California, where he joined his older brother John. The two left for Hawai‘i on a Matson ocean liner in 1932.
Once in Hawai‘i, Harry Hanson began his successful accounting career by doing audits for the firm Tennant and Grainey. Much of his work took him to Neighbor Island sugar mills.
Hanson, his brother and Theodore Raun founded the certified public accounting firm Hanson, Raun & Hanson. The firm’s clients included the Halek¬lani Hotel, Foodland and the Magoon companies.
In 1981, Hanson’s firm became part of Coopers and Lybrand, now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers.
After the merger, Harry Hanson worked at Magoon Estate and Magoon Brothers Ltd., where he served as director until last year.
Eaton "Bob" Magoon, former president of both companies, described Hanson as a wonderful person.
"All the wonderful things of mankind were in him," Magoon said.
Hanson is survived by his daughter, Lauren; sister, Gladys Baldwin; and sister-in-law, Pleiades Hanson.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Central Union Church’s Atherton Chapel.
A reception will follow at the Halekulani.
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