Vesla Hansen was born on April 28th, 1919 in Norway and lived to the remarkable age of 107. A descendant of the famed local giant of Setesdal, she was the last surviving sibling of Nils, Ommund, Ingeborg (Mossa), and Edgar Tornes. While living in Kristiansand and working as a beautician, she met the love of her life, Norman Hansen, who had just been sent by family to live in Norway after the death of his mother in America. They locked eyes on the beach and never wanted to part. Soon after their engagement, the German invasion of Norway during World War 2 altered their lives forever. 

As a policeman and member of underground Norwegian resistance efforts against the Nazis, her fianceé Norman was imprisoned in Grini concentration camp for 18 months. During that frightening time, Vesla bravely worked through underground channels to secretly visit him near a secluded fenced area along the perimeter of the camp. She had clandestine meetings with resistance contacts, took train rides and navigated a forest by herself because she would do anything to see her dear Norman and make sure he knew she was waiting for him. Her beauty allowed her to bypass nazi guards and smuggle secret notes on toilet paper to him in toothpaste tubes. She also had her stomach pumped at a local hospital so she could get an extra rationed loaf of bread to smuggle to him as well. She anxiously waited for a miracle which finally came in May of 1945, when the war ended. 

After Norman’s release, they married in July 1945 and had two daughters named Turid (Trudy) and Berit. In 1950, Norman returned to Monmouth Beach, New Jersey to visit family and convinced Vesla to come join him. She and their two girls made the long and difficult journey to America by boat, narrowly avoiding icebergs along the way. They learned to speak English as they started their new lives in America. 

In 1952, Norman and Vesla built a house in Monmouth Beach on Jessica Place. They had two more daughters, Sonja (Sunny) and Donna. All four girls attended Monmouth Beach Elementary School as their father did. Many of their daughters’ and grandchildren’s friends flocked to their house on weekends for Vesla’s famous Norwegian waffles and pancakes, which she served to generations of locals, and to swim in their beloved backyard pool. Vesla devoted her life to raising her 4 girls, 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. The family grew and thrived in Monmouth Beach and the surrounding towns. 

Over the years, Vesla and Norman loved to garden, ride their bicycles through town, go boating, relax at the town beach club and watch the Yankees. They often travelled to Norway and took other trips to Italy and St. Thomas. She continued to be a huge Yankees fan for the rest of her life. She found humor in the everyday and always lit up the room with her laughter, delighting in reminding those closest to her to just use common sense. While constantly knitting sweaters and doing needlework, she loved watching Family Feud, Jeopardy, and keeping up with current events. 

The family lost Norman to a stroke in 1999 and Vesla remained in their home until 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit. After the storm, she moved in with her daughter, Donna, and her family, who also live in Monmouth Beach. Through her final years Vesla continued to love her life surrounded by her daughters and grandchildren, especially looking at the ocean and sun bathing on their deck. The family’s dogs spent sun-kissed afternoons laying in her lap. She continued to cook for herself well past the age of 100 and dressed up in her finest sweaters and jewelry every day.

Everyone who spent even just a short amount of time with Vesla was touched by the twinkle in her eye and sparkle in her smile. Despite all of the hardships she faced in her lifetime, if you asked her how her day was before bed, her answer was always, undoubtedly, “Good! Always good.” We attribute her remarkable longevity to her nonchalance and steadfast positivity towards life’s ups and downs and the love that radiated from every corner of her being.

Vesla is predeceased by her husband Norman, her daughter Sunny, her son-in-law Skip, and her parents Lorentz and Torborg Tornes. She is survived by three of her daughters, Trudy Bouldin, Berit Naylor (and her husband Ron), and Donna Hansen; her nine grandchildren, Trudy’s daughters (Briana and Dana), Berit’s children (Evan, his wife Krista, and Emily), Sunny’s husband Dave Barto, their daughters and their spouses (Sarah and Joe Richichi, Jenna and Bob Pasquariello, and Amanda and Joe Gray), Donna’s children (Dylan, his wife Caylie O’Connell, and Julianna); and her five great grandchildren (Ella, Cate, Sam, Bobby and Emma).

She has brought so much happiness to countless people and it’s no surprise that she has deeply influenced generations with her strength, courage, loyalty and unconditional love. 

The burial procession will commence at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 27th at Woolley-Boglioli Funeral Home in Long Branch, New Jersey. Vesla will be laid to rest at Woodbine Cemetery in Oceanport, New Jersey. All are welcome to join. A celebration of her incredible life will take place at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or the Monmouth Beach First Aid Squad would be greatly appreciated.