96-year-old’s uplifting quotes become foundation for grandniece’s business in Cedar City

ST. GEORGE — “Being human is hard” but positivity goes a long way, said Louise Hanzon, the 96-year-old woman whose quotes inspired her grandniece to start a business featuring profound messages.

Louise Hanzon, Bonnie Perkins, Kasidee Passey and Louise Passey posing for a group photo, Cedar City, Utah, April 7, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

Kasidee Passey, Hanzon’s grandniece and owner and designer of According to Louise LLC,  said she was bored while on maternity leave last August and thought it would be fun to start a business.

“I was bored out of my mind,” she said. “I’m a worker. I’ve always been a worker.”

At first, Passey considered offering resale merchandise but ultimately decided to make T-shirts adorned with her great-aunt’s words.

Hanzon will be 97 in July and describes herself as a “walker.” When asked how she stays positive, Hanzon said she takes it day by day.

“One day at a time,” she said. “That’s the way I go.”

Passey’s mother Bonnie Perkins said Hanzon was born and raised in Cedar City but spent most of her life in Colorado. After retirement, she moved back to Utah.

“Being a human is hard,” T-shirt by According to Louise, LLC, Cedar City, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Kasidee Passey, Cedar City News

Hanzon became a nurse in the 1940s during World War II and worked intermittently for about 40 years. However, she stopped working full time after having her four children.

Perkins said one of Hanzon’s best quotes is, “Family is your greatest gift,” adding that family is the most important thing in Hanzon’s life.

“She doesn’t realize how profound she is,” Perkins said.

While Hanzon and Passey are close now, Passey said she only started visiting Hanzon consistently in her early teens after Hanzon’s husband died. Passey said Hanzon became her “new grandma” during that time. Passey named her daughter Louise after her great-aunt, she said.

Designing a business

To create her products, Passey cuts out vinyl designs using a Cricut and then applies them to shirts and sweaters with a heat press. Passey has purchased screen printing materials but is still learning to use them.

While Passey is currently focused on T-shirts and sweaters, she’s also sold keychains and binky clips in the past. She said she’s considering expanding her business but she’ll have to work around raising her daughter and working full time as an occupational therapist, offering lymphedema therapy for Intermountain Healthcare. Passey doesn’t plan to leave her job anytime soon, she said.

Louise Hanzon and Louise Passey looking at each other, Cedar City, Utah, April 7, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News

“I think it’s more of a hobby. I’m not trying to make it a full-time job,” she said. “I love my job. So it’s just something fun to do on the side.”

Passey said she gets out of her business what she puts into it, and when she’s actively advertising on social media, she sees more success.

While she primarily makes TikTok videos for marketing and sells products to other small-business owners, she said she might participate in more vendor events when her baby is older.

To balance motherhood, work and According to Louise, Passey said she mostly works on her business while her daughter is asleep. However, she said her husband will take over if she’s in a time crunch.

Passey said that every shirt she creates is unique.

“It’s inspired,” she said. “It’s not just like some quote I looked up on the internet or something, it comes directly from the mouth of this awesome woman.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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