Paul N. Hannan, a Tucson resident with a lifelong curiosity about the American Southwest and a varied career that ranged from seasonal park work to sales of renewable-energy equipment, died July 3, 2026, at his home in Tucson. Born Aug. 16, 1952, in Virginia, Hannan spent his childhood moving across the Southwest before settling in Bisbee, Arizona, where he completed high school and later enrolled at the University of Arizona. He was 73 at the time of his death.
Paul N. Hannan (1952–2026), pictured in a portrait; Hannan died July 3, 2026, at his home in Tucson.
Hannan’s early life included experiences that left a lasting imprint: a memorable Boy Scout troop trip to Central America at age 13 and seasonal employment at Yosemite in his early 20s. Those formative years, combined with time spent studying at the University of Arizona, shaped both his curiosity about geography and history and his appetite for travel and outdoor work.
His professional path moved through several distinct chapters. In the 1980s he worked in Tucson selling solar water heaters for Cornell Energy, a role that placed him at the intersection of sales and renewable-energy technology at a time when such systems were gaining local interest. During the 1990s he returned to the region of his birth for work with United Cities Gas Co. and later with Coalfield Services in southwest Virginia; while living there he was active in supporting the Wytheville Chautauqua arts festival, an engagement that reflected a continuing interest in community arts and cultural programming.
In 2006 Hannan relocated to Iowa after reconnecting with Laurel Foreman, someone he had known from his earlier life in Tucson. He settled in Des Moines, where he took up a position that he later described as one of his favorites: working as a vendor for the minor-league Iowa Cubs. He and Laurel were married in 2008, and after more than a decade in Iowa they retired to Tucson in 2019, returning to the Southwest where much of Hannan’s personal history had been made.
Friends and family recall Hannan as an enthusiastic cook and an adventurous eater who enjoyed trying new foods. He was widely known as a history and geography buff who could regale listeners with stories about the Southwest, the state of Arizona and their historical characters. In quieter moments he favored crime novels and nonfiction, often reading with a cat on his lap. Other regular pleasures included water aerobics, visits from his step-grandchildren, and travel with Laurel to cooler climates where they could observe wildlife together.
Hannan was predeceased by his parents, William and Nancy Hannan. He is survived by his wife, Laurel of Tucson; his sisters Elizabeth Cree of Tempe and Barbara Hannan of Chandler; a niece, Hannah Cree of Tucson; a stepdaughter, Jillane Johnson, her husband Marshall and their daughters Evelyn and Charlotte of Kansas City, Kan.; and two brothers, Patrick McReynolds of Tucson and Michael McReynolds of California. A gathering of family and friends is planned for later this year, and memorial trees may be planted in his memory.
Those who knew Paul Hannan say he leaves behind a legacy of curiosity about place and history, a warm appetite for food and company, and a record of involvement in a variety of communities from the Sierra Nevada to the Southwest and the Midwest. Family members have invited friends and acquaintances to share memories and condolences through established channels as they make arrangements for a later commemoration.
The obituary page on Legacy.com (published by the Arizona Daily Star) includes an option to have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in his memory through the Sympathy Store.
The obituary was published by the Arizona Daily Star and appeared on Legacy.com from July 20 to July 26, 2026.