Olson, Gladys L. (1916-2016)

OLSON, HOPE, SANDSMARK, HAGEN, MADSEN, GEDDES, PFILE

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 4/10/2016 at 17:24:06

Gladys L. Olson
October 9, 1916 - February 27, 2016

Gladys Lois (Hope) Olson, 99, died on Saturday, February 27, 2016, at the Hancock Memorial Hospital in Britt, Iowa, under hospice care.

Gladys Hope, the second child and the first daughter of Oscar and Ingeborg (Sandsmark) Hope, was born in rural Woden, Iowa, on October 9, 1916. The only child of her immigrant Norwegian parents to attend high school, she graduated from Story City High School in 1934 with a teacher’s certificate, ranking among the top four in her class of forty. She had stayed with her aunt and uncle while in school.

On October 23, 1937, Gladys married Wilbur Olson in Trenton, Missouri. They farmed the family homestead most of their lives. Very much involved in Pilot Knob Lutheran Church, she served on committees and taught Sunday school. In addition, she served on the Hancock Co. 4-H Extension Council and taught her daughters and granddaughters to sew while they were in 4-H.

Gladys and Wilbur loved to travel, visiting all 50 states, making a trip to Germany and Israel, and taking the time to visit her mother’s sister and her cousins in Norway. Moreover, every winter for twenty-seven years, she and Wilbur lived in Benson, Arizona. In 1992, they left the family farm to live in Forest City. Then, in 2006, they moved to Forest Plaza Assisted Living where she continued to reside after Wilbur died in November 2007.

Gladys cherished time visiting with friends and fellow residents, watching her favorite game shows, and solving word puzzles at Forest Plaza until November 2013 when she moved to the Good Samaritan Center in Forest City. At Good Sam, she’ll be remembered for loving chocolate covered raisins and enjoying daily visits from her family.

Gladys is survived by her children, Patricia (Dennis) Hagen, of Forest City; Phyllis Olson, of Urbandale; and Robert A. Olson, of Forest City; her brother, George Hope, of Ogden, Iowa, and a sister-in-law, Irmalee Olson, of Inverness, Florida; six grandchildren, Pamela (William J.) Madsen, of Maplewood, Minnesota, Deborah (Greg) Geddes, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Denise (Brad) Yeager, of Forest City, Joleen Olson-Pfile, of Freeport, Illinois, Sam (Kylie) Pfile, of Westfield, Indiana, and Sara Olson, of West Des Moines, Iowa; five great grandchildren, Quinten Geddes, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Christian Geddes, of Rochester, Minnesota, Alexandra Geddes, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Austin and Elsa Yeager, of Forest City; as well as by many loving nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her brothers, Art, Ed, Clarence, Obed, Stanley, and infant George and her sisters, Clara and Judy.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M., Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at Pilot Knob Lutheran Church with Rev. Robert Snitzer officiating. Visitation will take place from 9:30 A.M. till the time of the service on Tuesday at the church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Hospice of North Iowa or the Pilot Knob Lutheran Church.

Copyright © 2016, Cataldo Schott Funeral Home

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