Dr. Alan Hans, 76, the founder of the Woodstock Animal Hospital, died December 17 after a 16-year battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Born on December 14, 1948, to Doris and Irving Hans in New York City, Alan graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969 and, after taking a year off to work in the circus—doing everything from feeding the animals to selling popcorn—he entered the University of Liege in Brussels for a degree in veterinary medicine. He graduated in 1976. He interned at the Animal Medical Center in New York City and Cornell University in Ithaca.
In 1978, Alan began his career in the Woodstock community, where he cared for and comforted countless pets (and their owners) for 46 years. He adored his clients. In his spare time, Alan enjoyed life to the fullest. He ran 27 marathons, including the prestigious Boston Marathon. Alan was also a talented golfer and an active member of the Woodstock Golf Club for 30 years. He had an abiding passion for photography since he held his first Kodak “brownie” as a kid and liked calling himself a photographer and a vet. Last year, Alan won Black & White magazine’s Portfolio Contest for his street photographs in Cuba. “I prefer showing the darker, more intense underbelly of our societies,” he told the magazine. “Even if they are hard to view, we need to see.”
Alan loved nature; he knew every plant, flower, and bird. Every year, bears would tear down his bird feeders; undeterred, he would put up new ones. In the morning, he would sit on his porch with his coffee, looking out at nature or reading. A voracious reader, he read poetry every night before bed. He subscribed to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Scientific American, among other publications, and actually read most of the articles.
Alan loved humor and humorists, especially Larry David (who Alan quoted at his wedding) and Jerry Seinfeld, and was constantly quoting old comedians such as Henny Youngman. To feed his love of old movies and TV, he watched reruns of The Honeymooners and subscribed to the Criterion Channel. He had impeccable taste in music, favoring opera, jazz, and classical folk; he named his cat Ella after Ella Fitzgerald.
Above all, Alan was a devoted father, husband, brother, and friend. His children describe him as their greatest friend and best support system, compassionate, caring and loving, a “bright light,” always willing to extend a hand whether or not he was asked. They confided in him about everything and anything, and he supported them in everything and anything. He shared his love of the natural world and environment with them, taking them hiking and camping throughout the U.S. He inspired his son, David, to walk the Appalachian Trail; when David was standing on Springer Mountain, the southernmost point of the Trail, he remembered all the journeys they took together. Encouraged by her dad, Alan’s daughter, Rachael, ran her first marathon last year. Among Alan’s plans for the near future was to rent a Dodge Challenger and take Rachael on a road trip to New Mexico, pretending they were in Breaking Bad. His daughter still hopes to make the journey with Alan in her heart, if not in the passenger seat.
Alan met his wife on Jdate. They saw each other for the first time on a sunny spring day in Manhattan in 2002. She loved his Ray Bans; he loved her long blonde hair. They quickly became best friends, sharing the same values–family, religion, politics–and were married three years later. They enjoyed hiking at Poet’s Walk, walking in Central Park, and traveling: driving hundreds of miles this past April to see the Great North American Eclipse; to the beaches of Normandy; to Paris and Santa Fe; and to tiny Monhegan Island in Maine, 10 miles from the nearest mainland and accessible only by boat. They liked cooking together. He made outstanding chili and spaghetti sauce. He got her to laugh at herself. In his final days, Alan told everyone he could never have gotten through his cancer battle without her constant love and encouragement. Alan’s sister Sheryl and brother-in-law Gene were a never-ending source of comfort and devotion as well.
Alan met his best friend, Joseph, in Belgium in 1970 when they were in school–they literally knocked into each other at the mailbox of the apartment building they were both living in–and they remained best friends for the next 54 years, both moving to Woodstock after graduation. They thrived on shared interests in the Yankees and Rangers, board games, cinema, travel, politics, investing, science, and skiing. Alan tended to Joseph’s pets; Joseph was in the delivery room as a pediatrician the day Alan’s daughter was born and was involved in the journey of Alan’s adopted son from Russia. As Joseph puts it, “We were just two guys with many, many touchstones in our lives, resulting in mutual joy, respect, admiration, and love, who immensely enjoyed each other’s company.”
In addition to his many friends, both animal and human, Alan is survived by his wife, Jill Stolbach Hans; his son, David; his daughter, Rachael; his stepdaughters Lisa Luborsky and Renee Ross; his sisters, Sheryl Weise (Gene) and Judy Price (Mitchell); and his nieces and nephews. And not to be forgotten are his beloved pets: his Labrador Retrievers Annie and Charlie; and his cats Little Jerry and Tony. Cooper Lake won’t be the same without Alan and the labs’ daily walks there.
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