OLSON, Gladys Irene (Mathison) 1917-2000

NELSON, ELSHANG, MATHISON, OLSON, MARTIN, DENK, ELLIS, ALME, BILLET

Posted By: IAGenWeb Volunteer
Date: 9/1/2010 at 13:39:06

Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2000

Gladys Irene Olson

Gladys Irene Olson, 82, of Waukon, died Sunday, Aug. 27, 2000, at the Good Samaritan Center in Waukon following a lengthy illness.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 11 a.m., at Washington Prairie Lutheran Church in rural Decorah, with the Rev. Kim Smith officiating.

Casket bearers will be Ryan, Josh, Jamie and Cory Olson, Dan Denk and Duane Martin.

Burial will be at the church cemetery. The Martin Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Gladys (Mathison) Olson was born Sept. 27, 1917, in Madison, S.D., the daughter of Hanns and Mary Nelson (Elshang) Mathison. She attended school in the Madison area.

On March 20, 1937, she was married to Conrad R. Olson in Howard. S. D. Gladys and Conrad lived in South Dakota until 1957, when they moved to Decorah, where they stayed until moving to Waukon in 1978.

Gladys worked as a cook in several restaurants in Decorah and Waukon, as well as serving as head cook at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon for seven years. She also worked on the farm for many years.

A member of Washington Prairie Lutheran Church and its Ladies Aid, Gladys also was a member of the Oddfellows Lodge. She enjoyed bowling, playing cards and traveling, as well as cooking for family and friends.

Survivors include one daughter, Cynthia (Duane) Martin of Springville; three sons, Reginald of Marion, Michael (Bonnie) of West Salem, Wis., and Rocky (Jan) of Yuma, Ariz.; a son-in-law, Donald Denk of Waukon; 15 grandchildren; and 16 great grandchildren.

Gladys Olson was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Conrad; a daughter, Gayla Denk; a great granddaughter, Courtny; six sisters, Clara Ellis, Myrtle Alme, Genevieve Billet, and Ella, Selma and Alice Mathison; and 10 brothers, John, Melvin, Roy, Clarence, Sylvester, Russell, Lawrence, Clifford, Harold and Milo Mathison.

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.