Marilyn Hansen. Photo by Hilary Schleier

Marilyn Hansen. Photo by Hilary Schleier

The old Trinity Lutheran Church property at Gaston and Loving was on the market for many years after it closed in 2006. Developers pitched redevelopment ideas, but they all met with resistance until 2012, when the White Rock YMCA decided to pursue the property and was largely supported by the community. Neighbor Marilyn Hansen was very involved in Trinity Lutheran Church, mostly because of her late husband, Ken Hansen, whose father was the first president of the congregation in Lakewood. The church was a huge part of her life and her children’s lives, she says — but so was the YMCA.

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Before it closed, your family was very involved with Trinity Lutheran Church.

Ken’s father [Nels Hansen] was the president of the congregation when the church was built. The Hansens have been members of the church since its founding in the late teens. I didn’t become a member until I married Ken in the late ’60s. I was married in that church, and all four of my children were baptized in that church.

Is it safe to assume you know a lot about the history of the church, then?

The church was originally in South Dallas, and it was a German-speaking church, and it moved over into East Dallas in the late ’40s. Mr. Hansen was the president of the congregation that built the church. He was the first president of the congregation after it moved from South Dallas to East Dallas. The whole church moved over because the area was changing, and they were all primarily Scandinavian immigrants. They moved over to East Dallas, and most of the people moved over here with the church.

How do you feel when you see the current state of the church building?

It’s sad. Of course, the end of the church was sad.

How so?

To be really honest, that church was never heavily a part of the community because it moved from another community. There were a lot of people from Lakewood, but they were all people who had moved from South Dallas. (But it wasn’t a community church, and it dissolved as a church.) It did not move anyplace else. It dissolved because of a declining membership. I never understood why they wanted to close.

You’ve also been very involved in the YMCA. What do you think about it moving to that space?

I was chairman of the East Dallas board. In fact, the first woman. That was back in the early ’80s. I, of course, am delighted that the Y is going to be there. To drive by and see a church that had children and an after-school program for children, that my children grew up in and went to youth groups with — to see it abandoned and dirty, it was sad to watch that, and I think it would be wonderful to see the Y come. My children are delighted because they say it will be wonderful to see children there again. All four of my children worked for the East Dallas Y through high school. My oldest son was a full-time employee as a swim coach. It was a major part of our social life.

The old Y [on Worth Street] that I’m talking about was primarily a youth-oriented YMCA, with a pool and a lot of high school activities, youth and government, and an enormous sports program. Then, when it moved over to Gaston, they put in a superb fitness department, which I think has grown enormously, and I think it was needed in East Dallas, so I’m glad that’s going to continue. And I’m glad that the Y is not moving out of East Dallas, because it could have moved anywhere, and I’m really pleased that it’s staying in East Dallas and using the space of Trinity. I think old members of Trinity would be equally pleased.

Do you think it will be sad to see the church torn down?

Of course. It’s always sad to see something torn down that represented a really positive part of your life. And although the end relationship wasn’t positive, it was a positive influence in my children’s life. Certainly in my husband’s life. He was very involved in the church. All of his life, it had been the primary thing that he did. He had been confirmed there, I don’t know how many people in his family were married there, all of his family was buried there. The church had been the most important thing in Ken’s life growing up. He was very upset when it dissolved.

But he would be very happy to see the Y going in there, and even though they will tear down the church, he would be very happy to see children on the grounds. It would actually please him. Since the church left, it was the best solution they could make, to bring children back there.

Interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.