Elizabeth Olson

Elizabeth A. Olson, 83, died Monday, September 22, 2014 in Durango, Colorado . A celebration of life will be Friday, October 24, 2014 at 4:00 P.M. at Christ the King Lutheran Church. A reception will follow at the home of Stephen and Dana Wilson. Internment will take place in the summer of 2015 at the Augustana Lutheran Church in Halstad, MN.
Betty was born November 21, 1930 in Ada, Minnesota, the daughter of Fred and Belva Scott. She grew up in Ada, MN and graduated high school with Valedictorian Honors in 1948. Betty met her loving husband Wallace Olson in high school one night when tipping toilets with friends, a story she loved to tell. They dated briefly but, Betty then went on to the St. Luke's School of Nursing in Fargo N.D. She did her nurses training in the Chicago County Hospital and graduated as a registered nurse. She then moved back to Minnesota and started dating Wally again. They married in 1952. They lived on the family farm and she became a true farmer's wife. The first year of their marriage they lived in the family farm home and Betty was the nurse for Wally's father, who died a year later. But it was a very special year for her as she loved her new father-in-law and she was able to make his last year as comfortable and meaningful as she could. Betty and Wally then took over the family farm in Halstad, MN where they had 3 children and raised sugar beets and wheat. She was an active member of the Halstad Lutheran Church, the Women's Club and the Sewing Club. She worked part time at the Ada hospital, and also as a public health nurse for the county. In 1979, they sold the farm and moved to Sturgis, SD. There she started working in the Sturgis VA hospital and later worked at the Sturgis Regional Hospital. She became active in the Grace Lutheran Church and the Sturgis Arts Council. They enjoyed life in the Black Hills and often rode horses and snowmobiles. They opened up their home to good friends each summer for the Sturgis motorcycle rally. They lived there for 35 years before moving last year to Durango, CO to be near their daughter Dana. There she joined the Christ the King Lutheran Church, was a member of the Durango Friends of the Arts and attended functions for Womenade, a support for women in need which she founded very rewarding. Betty always enjoyed volunteer work through her church, she was able to travel to places such as China and Norway, she had her pilots license and enjoyed flying, she was a supporter of the arts, and she was a giving and loving friend and mother. She enjoyed life to the fullest and had a way of making everyone feel loved and special.
She is survived by her husband Wallace of Durango, CO, her son Terry Olson from Sheridan, WY, her daughter Dana Wilson of Durango, CO, her sister, Marilyn Spinarski of Lancaster, CA, 3 grandsons, and 1 great grandson. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Jeremy Scott, her beloved son Matthew and granddaughter Anna.
In lieu of flowers please send donations to Womenade of La Plata County, 679 E. 2nd Avenue, Durango, CO 81301.