John K. Hanson was born on a farm near Thor, Iowa, on June 22, 1913, and soon after, he and his family moved to Forest City. He graduated from Waldorf College in 1932, and in 1934, received a Bachelor of Science degree in mortuary science from the University of Minnesota. At the time, he was the youngest person to receive a mortician’s license in Iowa. Following graduation, Hanson became the funeral director in his father’s Forest City funeral home and began assuming responsibility for his father’s furniture and appliance store.