Martin Jay OLSON

OLSON, LARSON, MEYER, KLAESSY, TASDALL, AXDAHL

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/1/2009 at 12:10:52

February 10, 1921 -- July 1, 2007

Martin Jay Olson, 86, of Humboldt, formerly of Hardy, passed away July 1, 2007 at the Long Term Care Unit of the Humboldt County Memorial Hospital. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday at The Trinity Lutheran Church at Hardy with the Rev. H.W. Schiller officiating. Interment will be in Trinity Cemetery. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Mason-Lindhart Funeral Home in Humboldt.

Jay is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Charlotte; three children and their spouses, Mark and Carolyn (Larson) Olson of Hardy, Cheryl and Gerald Meyer of Earlville, Ill., and Jana Olson of Bloomington, Ill.; grandchildren, Joshua, Rebecca, Justin, and Jeremiah Olson and Megan, Jennifer, Christina, and Joseph Meyer; brother and sister-in-law, Loren and Margaret Olson of Des Moines; sister, Elouise Klaessy of Fort Dodge; and a niece and three nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Eugene Klaessy.

Martin Jay Olson, the son of Martin and Jennie (Tasdall) Olson, was born Feb. 10, 1921 at Morris, Ill. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church at Rural Hardy where he was a life long member. He attended Hardy Public School and graduated from Vernon Consolidated School near Hardy. Jay farmed with his father until he was drafted into the United States Army in March of 1944. Following the completion of his basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, Jay boarded the Queen Mary and left for Europe on Oct. 12, 1944. The ship docked at Glasgow Scotland and from there they headed to Omaha Beach, France where his assignment was the company runner for the 1st Platoon Company C which was part of the 110th Infantry – 28th Division. Jay fought during the Battle of the Bulge and on Dec. 17, 1944, was captured by the Germans and imprisoned at Bad Orb, Germany at Stalag IX B. Freedom came for Jay and the rest of the prisoners on April 2, 1945 when Patton's Tanks broke through the camp gates. Corporal Olson was honorably discharged on Nov. 18, 1945 at Fort Knox, Ky. having received decorations and citations for Good Conduct, World War II Victory Medal, American Theater Ribbon, and European-African-Middle Easter Theater Ribbon with three Bronze Service Stars. Upon his return home, Jay took over the family farming operations when his father retired. He was united in marriage to Charlotte Axdahl on March 13, 1954 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Jay continued to farm until his retirement in 1984 and in September of 1993, the couple moved to Humboldt. Jay became a resident of the Humboldt Care Center South in December of 2005 following a stroke and in March of 2006 made his home in the Long Term Care Unit of the Humboldt County Memorial Hospital. He passed away there on the evening of July 1, 2007 at the age of 86.

Jay had tremendous faith and love for the lord and lived a God fearing life and was an active member of the Trinity Lutheran Church, serving on many church committees. He took great pride in his farming operations, which included raising hogs and enjoyed following the Chicago Cubs. He attended many local, state, and national POW conventions and traveled extensively with Charlotte including a trip in 1978 to the camp in Germany where he was a POW.