Fay West (Hanson), age 91, died peacefully at Good Samaritan in Maplewood, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2025. She was born on Sept. 16, 1933, in Barron, Wisconsin, to parents Helmer Hanson and Lillian Myers. Fay grew up in Luck, Wisconsin, along with her sister Donna Lange. Fay was close with her sister. It made her very happy when in their later years they were able to live across the hall from each other.
Family was everything to her and she loved attending all the many family functions.
A few years after graduating high school she married Don Roach and was blessed with three children, Mark, Brad and Melissa, and raised them in Milltown, Wisconsin. She was also blessed with lifetime friendships made during her 18 years of working at Kroy-Dresser Plastics. Fay married Dennis West in September of 1980 and lived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, later moving to Frederic, Wisconsin. They had many fun adventures together, most times joined by her children and grandchildren. One of her favorite things to do was catching the casino flights out to Nevada. She even had a few happy stories to tell about her time there.
She was a huge Green Bay Packer fan right up to the very end. She would always end any letter, card or phone call with “Go Packers.”
Fay was preceded in death by her parents, Helmer Hansen and Lillian Myers; stepdad, Charles Myers; stepsister, Janice Moon; husbands, Don Roach and Dennis West; aunt and uncle, Robert and Lola Hinschberger; son-in-law, Kevin Frokjer; and granddaughter, Carli Roach.
She is survived by sons, Mark (Carol) Roach (Wendover, Nevada) and Brad Roach (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin); daughter, Melissa Frokjer (White Bear Lake, Minnesota); sister, Donna Lange (Taylors Falls, Wisconsin); nieces and nephews; six grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
A memorial for Fay will be held at North Valley Church, Milltown, on Saturday, March 8, starting at 1 p.m. with a luncheon following the service.
Being an avid Frank Sinatra fan, her favorite saying was “The Best is Yet to Come.”
