Apple industry veteran Scott Michael Hanses, 62, died March 13.
A native of Yakima, Wash., Hanses worked in the apple industry throughout his career, according to his obituary.
After graduating from college, Hanses began his produce career at the sales desk at Roche Fruit, and subsequently was sales manager at Olympic Fruit and a partner in Sage Marketing. He was sales manager and then vice president at C.M. Holtzinger Fruit, and was promoted to CEO in 2012. Hanses retired from the industry in 2013, according to his obituary.
Hanses battled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for nine years.
Friend Don Goodwin, president of Golden Sun Marketing, Mound, Minn., said Hanses was a joy to be around.
“Scott had an enormous group of friends and we all were proud to call him one of our closest friends,” Goodwin said in a tribute he wrote for Hanses.
Goodwin said that Hanses had the ability to “break the ice and make anyone smile within the first few minutes of meeting him.”
More than a great salesman, Goodwin said that Hanses had the “incredible gift of making others feel special even during his most difficult times.”
Despite fighting an unwinnable battle, Hanses chose to be happy every day, Goodwin said.
“He inspired me and countless others with his attitude,” he said. “Scotty was one of the true greats who will be missed dearly by all who knew him.”
Hanses is survived by his wife of 30 years, Kathi, children Kendra and Robb Waldburger and granddaughter Scout, and daughters Lee and Rachel Hanses according to the obituary.
Hanses was the inspiration behind Ales for ALS, a national fundraising campaign dedicated to finding a treatment/cure for ALS that has raised nearly $3 million since 2013. The family asks for donations to the ALS Therapy Development Institute at www.als.net/donate.
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