by Marv Bachrad, publicity director, Dover Downs

Dover, DE — Ruth Aldridge Hansen, for 67 years the wife of Hap Hansen, former Brandywine Raceway CEO/track president and Harness Tracks of America officer, died at her residence at Plantation Estates, Matthews, N.C., on April 9, 2013.

Born in Baltimore, Md., Mrs. Hansen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, where she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Following graduation in 1945, she married Hap, then an Ensign in the U.S. Navy.

The Hansens moved to Wilmington, Del., in 1952, where they would reside for the next 48 years. While in Delaware, she enjoyed volunteering for a number of organizations: Junior Board of the Memorial Division, Wilmington Medical Center, Delaware Alumni Association of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Wilmington City Panhellenic Association, St. John’s Episcopal Church, American Association of University Women and Alfred I. DuPont Childrens’ Hospital.

A personal highlight was her involvement with Winterthur Museum and Gardens where she began as a volunteer for the Spring Tour in 1963. Mrs. Hansen continued with a 25-year career as a senior guide. She enjoyed several arts-oriented trips abroad organized by Museum guides. Her service is remembered with an honorary bench near the Museum main entrance.

After the closing of Brandywine Raceway, the Hansens moved to North Carolina in 2000 and continued to purse their hobby of traveling.

Mrs. Hansen is survived by her husband, Wilmer “Hap”; son, Kent (Cathy); daughter, Karen Schulze (Marshall Asnen); grandchildren, Kristen (Jason) McDermott and Derek (Jennifer) Schulze; and great-grandchildren, Sydney Anne and William Schulze.

A memorial service will be held in the Auditorium at Plantation Estates on Saturday (April 27) at 1:30 p.m. Interment will be at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, P.O. Box 38, Columbus OH 43216 or www.kappa.org/donation; Winterthur Museum Development Office, 5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE; Hospice & Palliative Care/Charlotte Region, 1420 East 7th St., Charlotte, NC 28204.