Marie Olson

Obituary

Marie Selma Louise Anderson Olson was born to Hjalmar and Selma (Kingstrom) Anderson on May 29th, 1927 in the family home, Palmyra Township, Minnesota. She was one of the 35 grandchildren of Karl Levin and Louisa Anderson who immigrated from Sweden and settled in Hector, Minnesota in 1881. Marie’s mother, Selma, died the following day from complications of childbirth. Hjalmar had three boys, Stanley 7, Warren 5, and Myron (Mike) 1, and a new born little girl. Enock (Hjalmar’s older brother) and Effie Anderson agreed to take Marie into their home and raise her. They all attended Palmyra Covenant Church, Southeast of Hector Minnesota, attending Sunday services as well as Sunday School and Confirmation. Marie was confirmed at Palmyra Covenant Church under Pastor Carl S. Lundquist on December 7th, 1941. About 1933, the J. Arthur Olson family joined the church so that their children could attend Confirmation. As the oldest, J. Roger Olson, was of Confirmation age. It was during those years that Marie and Roger began to spend time together. Marie attended the Hector Public School and graduated in 1944.

The day after graduation, Marie moved into a room at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Billings in Franklin, MN and worked for Dr. Billings. She then moved in with her “sister” Lillian and Rueben Peterson who lived in Minneapolis where she worked for Northwest Airlines and Cargill.

Marie married J. Roger Olson on December 28, 1946 at the Palmyra Covenant Church. Soon after the wedding, they moved into the house located on 160 acres owned by Roger’s uncle Norman. They rented 160 acres from Roger’s father and the 160 acres Norman owned. They eventually bought the land from Norman. They had a typical farm operation during the 50’s and 60’s, including a small herd of milk cows. Here they lived for 61 years until Roger passed away in 2008. Marie continued to live on the farm until the fall of 2015 when she moved to Prairie View of Hector, an Independent/Assisted Living Senior Facility. Here she was the life of the party, encouraging everyone and attending as many activities and Bible studies as possible. She had a great relationship with the staff and supported them and their work.

Marie and Roger raised four children: Sandy, Jon (Gary), Mark and Meridee. Marie worked in support of the farm including preparing 3 large meals daily, caring for the kids, hauling corn from the field to the crib and helping wherever she could. In the mid 60’s, Marie began to work outside the home at the Gateway Truck Stop in Olivia. In 1971 Marie accepted a job as a cook at Bird Island Lake Lillian Public School where she worked for 27 years. She loved this work and built relationships with many of the students. The boys especially liked to get on Marie’s side of the serving line because she was a little more generous with the serving size. Years later many of the students would still approach Marie around town and strike up a conversation with her.
Marie loved life and needed to know everything about everyone. She loved people and loved to meet new people. She could go into a room full of strangers and by the end of the night have met most of them and developed a few new friends. She loved family and had many favorite nieces and nephews, as a matter of fact they were all her favorites. She stepped in to help anytime her extended family members needed help and took in several of them from time to time.

Marie loved the Lord and was ready to meet her Savior and at the last looked forward to seeing her mother and of course Roger. She was active in Palmyra Covenant Church both financially and with her time. She served as the Sunday School Superintendent, Sunday School Teacher, President of Covenant Women, Choir and other activities as needed.

Marie is survived by her
Children, Sandra (Alan) Freeman of Gilbert, AZ,
                  Jon “Gary” (Carolyn) Olson of Otsego, MN,
                 Mark (Pam) Olson of Bird Island, MN,
                 Meridee Miller of Maple Grove, MN;
Grandchildren, Lisa (Matt), Michele (Andy), Jessica, Kyle (Tricia), Scott (Melissa), Nichole (Matthew),
Eric (Efren), Melanie (Dan), Maria (Jason), and Bryan (Jenna),
Great-grandchildren, Sydney, Haley, Regan, Brinna, Eva, Ingrid, Anders, Brody, Mya, Cory, Cali, Mark, Audrey, Tyden, Jovie, Eloise, Jackson, Addyson, Kendall, and honorary granddaughter, Lissy Trommer of Germany.
Sisters-in-law, Dorothy Anderson of rural Hector, MN,
                           Harriet Olson of Grand Rapids, MN;
Many other family and friends.

Marie was preceded in death by her Mother, Selma Anderson; Father, Hjalmar Anderson; Stepmother, Jennie Anderson; Father Enock Anderson; Mother Effie Anderson, Brothers, Stanley, Warren, Myron, and Raymond Anderson; Sister, Lillian Peterson; Great-grandson, Marcus Walsten; Father-in-law, J. Arthur Olson; Mother-in-law, Mabel Olson; Daughter-in-law, Susan Olson; Brothers-in-law, Rueben Peterson and K. Wesley Olson; and Sisters-in-law, Lorraine Raitz, Mae Anderson, Lucille Lundstrom, Deloris Olson, and Carrol Olson.