Former State Sen. Tom Hansen and his wife, Linda, at a Nebraska volleyball match. (Courtesy of Marshall Hansen)

LINCOLN — Standing over 6 feet tall, with a love of good-looking cowboy hats and boots, Tom Hansen stood out when he arrived at the Nebraska Legislature in 2007.

But behind the well-dressed rancher was a real cowboy, the third-generation to operate a North Platte-area ranch, the Hansen 77 Ranch, that utilized the oldest brand in the state still registered to the same family.

Hansen’s oldest son, Marshall, said his father would want to be remembered as a regular cowboy, who carried on at the family’s 147-year-old ranch, now run by his youngest son, Eric, and not just his work in the Legislature or helping with the Nebraska Cattlemen and North Platte’s Nebraskaland Days celebrat

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