Columbus Republic 23 Oct 2009
Melbourne Hanna
Terre Haute

Melbourne "Millie" Hanna, 89, of Terre Haute, died Tuesday, October 20, 2009, in Union Hospital.

Visitation is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, October 23, at Callahan & Hughes Funeral Home, 605 South 25th Street, Terre Haute. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 24, with the Reverend Kyle Andrews and Deacon Elias Corey officiating. Burial will be in Roselawn Memorial Park.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lighthouse Mission, 1450 Wabash Ave., Terre Haute, IN 47807.

Mrs. Hanna was born December 1, 1919, in Carlisle, Indiana, to Marvin Lester Bishop and Delcie Mounts Bishop, and was a descendant of Bartholomew County pioneer settler Thomas Mounts. She made her home in Columbus from 1987 until 2006 when she returned to Terre Haute where she spent most of her life.

Survivors include two sons, William Hanna (Peggy) of Terre Haute and Phillip J. Hanna (Nan) of Indian Rocks Beach, FL; one daughter, Marilyn Brackney (Larry) of Columbus; two brothers, James Bishop of New Mexico and Jerry Bishop of North Salem, IN; grandchildren, Dr. Larry J. Brackney (Raina Cox) of Denver, CO, Susan Brackney (James Bradley) of Bloomington, IN, John J. Hanna (Jen) of Clearwater, FL, and Lori Spencer (Reed) of Tipp City, OH; four great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Hanna was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph, her parents, one brother and six sisters.

Raised on a family farm in Sullivan County, she and her sisters worked the land with a horse and plow, and she sold black raspberries to earn money to pay for school clothes. After high school graduation, she moved to Terre Haute where she worked as a sales clerk at the Olympia Candy Store. There, she met her future husband, Joseph Hanna.

In the early 1940s, she was employed as a sales clerk at Montgomery Ward Department Store in Terre Haute. Taking time off to have three children, she entered store management during the 1950s. Mrs. Hanna continued working at Montgomery Ward for 40 years, retiring in 1980 as Manager of Inventory Control.

Although she was a "working mother" long before it became commonplace, she managed to do her job well and to successfully raise three children. As an adult, she was baptized at Central Presbyterian Church where she made sure all her children received a Christian education.

Mrs. Hanna was a wonderful cook and she loved gardening and growing flowers. She suffered a stroke in 2002, but she dealt with its aftereffects, keeping her bright smile and sense of humor till the day she died. She will be greatly missed by her children, grandchildren, other family members, and her friends.