Fanny was born in Wilson, Pennsylvania, the third child of George and Karin (Von Hadeln) Stürup. They were Danish and from the Copenhagen, Denmark nobility. They had 4 children, Inger, Jens, Fanny, and Nina Stürup. When Fanny was still a little baby, they moved to Ashtabula, Ohio, where her mother became an opera singer. Her father saw the Depression coming so he bought a farm in New York State (3 miles from Bemus Point, NY, extreme western New York). She loved living on the farm, and especially loved her horses. In 1944, she joined the Army (as a WAC). She worked in the Parachute School in Fort Benning, Georgia. Later, she was transferred to the Pentagon in Washington D.C. where she worked in the secretary pool. Her highest rank was E-5/SGT. Her enlistment was up in November 1946 and she was awarded the Good Conduct Medal. During her time in the service, she met her future husband, Lorand B. Hand at Fort Benning, Georgia. Four years later they were married in Hays, Kansas on March 11, 1950. She attended the Fort Hays State College (on her G.I. Bill). The family moved to Topeka, Kansas where she would later graduate from Washburn University. Franny was married to Lorand for 55 years until his passing in September of 2004. Courtesy of dovetopeka.com