Mary Ann Olson

Mary Ann Olson of Bradley, the widow of Harris Olson, died on Monday afternoon in a Sioux Falls hospital. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 at 1PM in the St. Michael's Catholic Church at Clark with the Reverend Bill Hamak and the Reverend Doug Binsfeld officiating. Music will be presented by Eileen Heilman as organist and Wendy Christman as soloist. Casketbearers will be her grandchildren. Burial will be in the Prairie Hill Cemetery at Bradley. Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 5-7 PM with at Liturgical Wake service beginning at 6PM all in the Furness Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will also continue 1 hour prior to the funeral services on Wednesday afternoon. She was born on December 18, 1927 near Bellingham, MN, the daughter of Andrew and Martha (Totzke) Schuelke. She attended country school and then graduated from Ortonville High School in Ortonville, MN. After her high school schooling she worked at a Ford dealership in Ortonville in the parts department and then traveled to Yellowstone National Park and worked there. On January 25, 1949 she was united in marriage to Harris C. Olson at Ortonville. The couple lived and farmed in Minnesota for a year prior to purchasing a farm and moving north of Bradley, SD. In 1966 the couple built a new home in Bradley. They both continued farming and Harris trucking as well. Mary Ann worked on the farm, milked cows and did all the bookkeeping. She also helped out in the Bradley store. Mr. Olson died on June 23, 2004. Mrs. Olson became a resident of the Fay Wookey Memorial Living Center about 1 year ago. She was a member of St. Michaels Catholic Church at Clark and prior that she was a member of St. Josephs Catholic Church in Lily where she also served on the parish council. While living in Bradley she was a member of the town board. Some of her hobbies included watching and participating in sports of all kinds. She played countless hours of softball and enjoyed all the time spent in the bowling alley as well. Mary Ann loved the outdoors and spending time in her garden. Grateful for having shared in her life are her sons, Dennis Olson and wife Sharon and Donald and wife Susan all of Bradley, a brother, John Schuelke and wife Dorothy of LaBolt, SD, 8 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. Preceding her in death were her parents, husband, six brothers, Donald, James, Virgil, Robert, Charles and Jerome and a sister Margaret.