Wanda Lurene Olson
POLSON — Wanda Lurene Olson of Polson, died early in the morning on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, at St. Luke Extended Care, at the age of 85.
Wanda was the first-born child of Joseph “Louie” and Nellie K. Askew in McCleansboro, Ill., on Oct. 28, 1926. Her brother James (“Larry”) was born 17 years later. When Wanda was two, the family moved to Werner, ND, and later to Dawson, ND, where her father worked for the Northern Pacific RR.
Wanda learned telegraphy skills from her father, and worked as a telegrapher for the Northern Pacific Railroad while in high school and for a short time after she graduated. It was during that time she met and fell in love with a young railroad conductor named John Sophus Olson.
After a short courtship, she and John were married in Jamestown, N.D. on January 13, 1946. They promptly moved into the Olson Hotel, which John had purchased during their courtship. A 25-room hotel built in the early 1900’s; it was to be their home for the next 26 years. John continued his railroad career while Wanda balanced the management of the hotel with starting a family. In quick succession, three young children were born to the enterprising couple.
When John was out on the road with his railroad job, Wanda had back-up assistance from John’s mother, Ruth, who resided in a basement apartment of the hotel. They sold the hotel in 1972 and moved into a private residence on the hills overlooking Jamestown, and for the first time in their married lives, had a living room without an adjacent hotel lobby.
Wanda was a skilled needle-pointer who made beautiful wall hangings, decorative pillows, and Christmas stockings for everyone in the family. She was also well known for her home cooking, especially her potato salad, rosettes, and her baked beans. While Wanda’s favorite way to spend time was being at home working in the yard, she and John enjoyed their winters in Port Charlotte, Fla., for many years after John retired. In 1998, they took the “trip of a lifetime” to Norway and Sweden with John’s sister Charlotte, and reconnected with their overseas relatives and heritage.
Her loving husband John passed away in June of 2006. Wanda lived in Jamestown until June 2010 when she moved to Edgewood Village in Bismarck, N.D., to be closer to her son, Kelly, and his family. The following June she moved to The Retreat in Polson to be near her daughter, Linda, and her family.
Wanda was preceded in death by her parents, her husband John, her son Jeffery Lynn, and her stepmother, Ellen Askew.
Survivors include her children Linda (Ron) Davis of Polson, Kelly (Linda) Olson of Perham, Minn.; a brother James Lawrence Askew of Akley, Minn., half-brothers, Wiley (Chris) Askew of Rochester, Minn., and Wayne (Cherie) Askew of Phoenix, Ariz.; sister-in-law Charlotte E. Olson of Alexandria, Va.; daughter-in-law Rosemary Olson of Bismarck, N.D.; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grand-children.
Cremation has taken place and memorial services are planned for early summer in Jamestown, N.D.
Wanda’s family would like to thank the owners and staff of The Retreat in Polson, Dr. Heather Jones, and all who cared for her at St. Luke Hospital and Extended Care during her recent illness. We are forever grateful for your tender, loving support for her and for the family.
Messages of condolences may be shared with the family online at: groganfuneralhome.com
