With a heavy heart I inform you that Michael Darwin Hahn, 73, passed away on Nov. 10, 2023, after a long battle with cancer. He passed peacefully at home with family lovingly by his side. 

Michael was born on Aug. 26, 1950, to Marilyn Ann Hahn and Wilford Leroy Hahn in Portland. His recent passions were cruising around in the yellow corvette, learning as much as he could, and spending time with family. I will let gramps tell you about his life, the following is a biography he wrote and is proud of. 

Hi, I hope your life has been as interesting for you as mine has been for me. Throughout my school years I had planned to become a theoretical physicist designing experiments for particle accelerators (atom smashers). As a college student I never had much money, so I began working in restaurants to earn school money. My beater car was a clunker that broke down often, so whenever someone at work called in sick, I skipped school to work extra hours. I was a hard worker and frequently received promotions. Somehow, instead of becoming a nuclear physicist, I became a chef, journeyman baker, banquet chef, restaurant manager, project manager, etc. Many of you probably remember me as being very quiet and maybe even thought of me as being stuck up, but I was just very shy. Growing up, my father believed in the laying on of hands, and I grew up being afraid of people. I held many of you in high esteem and wanted to be accepted, but I had limited people skills and I feared being rejected. And that is why food service was good for me – it taught me to open up and talk to people. 

In May, 1971, I took a summer job working for the House of Pies Restaurant on 105th and Stark Street. I stayed with this company for 14 years. At first I worked in Oregon, Washington, and northern California. 

In 1976, I was transferred to Houston, Tex., and promoted to corporate manager in charge of franchise operations. In 1983, I met my future wife. Hoping to raise her children in a better location, we left Houston in 1985 and moved to Seaside. We lived in Seaside for several years. I worked on the banquet team at the Convention Center (serving up to 1,600 meals at one sitting) and cooking at the Pig ‘N Pancake restaurant. 

My wife and I also owned a gift shop and an art gallery. At least once a week during the summer, I walked the beach from the Peter Iredale shipwreck at Fort Stevens to the mouth of the Necanicum River in Seaside. There were a lot of sand dollars on the beach back then, especially at Columbia Beach west of Warrenton where a World War II Japanese submarine shell hit the US mainland. While living in Seaside, my wife had the realization that with our employment backgrounds, we could find decent work anyplace we wanted to live. 

With that realization, my wife and I began to travel and move around. We stopped working on how to fund a big bank account, and began working on how to enjoy living. The one nice thing about food service is there are always jobs to be found, so my wife and I lived in many places over the years, i.e., Seaside, Portland, Newport, Bend, and Burns; Leavenworth, Chelan, and Stehekin, Wash.; Haines and Juneau, Alaska; Phoenix, Ariz, Reno and Winnemucca, Nev., Grand Junction and Denver, Colo. 

Four years ago, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I am at peace with myself; I have lived a full and happy life. I have lived in many special places. I have so many fun memories and I love to reminisce about my younger years adventures. I have swam in the Beaufort Sea. I have paddled a canoe up and down Lake Chelan. I have spent many nights outdoors in Alaska watching the northern lights.. I have panned for gold in Alabama and found gold in Colorado.

Here in Burns I am surrounded by my family, friends, and many wonderful people. I have lived several years beyond my medical prognosis. I am not in pain. I can still love, laugh, and learn. I lack my youthful stamina, but I can still walk and move about. I have never aspired to own the biggest house in town or to buy a new corvette every year – my aspiration has always been to have the freedom to live a happy life, and that is what I have accomplished.

The family had a small interment ceremony on Nov. 16, 2023. Michael is survived by his sons, Raymond Hahn, Phillip Lizee, and Ben McCanna; grandchildren, Jenifer McCanna, Jessica Rodgers, and Kaitlin Klawitter. He is preceded by his father, Wilford Hahn; mother, Marilyn Hahn; wife, Linda Hahn; and daughter, Monica McCanna. Services will be held at the LDS church in Hines, May 11, at 1 p.m.