My Parents

Skudesnes Evangelical Lutheran Church, Loreburn,Sk. -My Home Congregation where my parents, Olson grandparents and one set of great-grandparents are buried.


Here is a picture of our family taken in the summer of 1989 at a Joel Olson family reunion at LCBI, Outlook. Back row left to right. Tim Kennedy, Ray Ursin, Everald Olson, Vance Olson, Daryl Olson holding Kenny, Duane Olson, Arlin Olson
Second Row: Marlys Kennedy holding Christie, Holly Olson, Julie Ursin, Holly Olson, Sarah Olson, Sherryl Olson, Ruth Olson
Front Row: Karla Olson, Kirstin Olson, Karen Olson, Everly Olson, Florence Olson holding Timmy Olson, David Olson holding Zachary Ursin, Lois Olson, Chelsea Olson,Krystal Olson, Ben Olson.


Here is a picture of my parents David and Florence Olson along with Arlin and Ruth. This picture was taken at Arlin and Ruth's commissioning service in the 1980's at Skudesnes Lutheran Church.

David Philip Olson - Dec. 4,1927 -Oct.20, 1989

David Philip Olson was the first born son of Joel and Olida. He was born at the Tjøsvold farm just outside Strongfield. David lived north of Broderick, the first couple years of his life. I have a picture of him when he was about 1 year old, 1928 sitting inside a sod barn that grandpa Joel was building. David took his schooling at Hawarden and Mountain Ash Schools. He took his final year of school [grade 11] at S.L.B.I. in Outlook. David then worked in Saskatoon at Richardson's, a company that made road construction equipment. He met Florence Nilson while she was teaching school at Wildon school Northwest of Loreburn. They were married in 1952 at Florence's home church, Bethany Lutheran, Parkbeg, Saskatchewan. Dad's best man was Malcolm Olson, his cousin from Tiger Hills, Saskatchewan. Groomsman was Obert Nilson and mom's bridesmaids were Audrey Downs, Evelyn Nilson and Ione Olson. There were two flowergirls, Carol Loseth and ?. After they were married, dad rented land from Gerhard and Herald Kvinge, 8 miles East of Hawarden. They lived on what was called the Stauffer place. Water was hauled from artesian wells in the area. The farm didn't have electricity. In the early years of their marriage, light was provided by naphtha lanterns and heat was provided by a Coal and Wood furnace in the Basement. In the late fifties a windcharger was installed. So we had electric lights. It was a 32 volt system with large glass batteries stored in the basement. In 1959 the farm got electricity from Sask. Power. In 1964 the family moved to the Victor Mann farm on Highway 19 just outside of Hawarden. Dad bought the yard including 40 acres. At this time Dad was not only farming but also operating earthmoving equipment with his cousin Eilif Anderson. They leveled many acres of land for farmers in the Broderick and Outlook areas who were preparing their land for irrigation. They also dug many dug outs. In 1968, at the invitation of Curtis Satre, the family moved to Chelan, Saskatchewan to farm the Satre and Nilson land. Dad bought one quarter there from the Anderson family. Dad farmed the land for three years. It was very poor land, Satre's was rocky and Nilson's was sand. In 1971, Dad moved back to Strongfield to the Archibald farm. He bought the home half section from his uncle Norman Archibald and rented another half section from Mrs. Gross who lived in Vancouver. He also farmed grandpa Joel's section of land for a few years at Hawarden. In 1974 dad built a new house on the farm. In 1988, Dad and Mom bought the Strongfield Post Office and Café which they operated. They moved to town and lived in the back of the Cafe. On October 20th, in the early morning about 5AM Dad passed away in his sleep, unexpectedly and very suddenly. The funeral was held the following Wednesday,Oct. 25th at Skudesnes Lutheran Church, where Dad was buried. Pastor Ken Wilsdon preached, the quartet of Allen Hunter, Roy Olson, Philip Johnson and John Kirkpatrick from Bethlehem Lutheran, Hawarden, sang.

FLORENCE NINA OLSON [nee Nilson] 1931-2003

Florence Nina Nilson was the third daughter of Andrew and Josephine Nilson, the second youngest in a family of eight. She was born at the family home near Parkbeg, Saskatchewan on December 20th, 1931 and baptized and confirmed at Bethany Lutheran Church, north of Parkbeg. She attended school at a country school named ‘Holyrood' school and Parkbeg and took her last two years of High School at SLBI in Outlook. During her time away at High School in Outlook, her father Andrew passed away suddenly. After High School she moved to Moose Jaw and lived with her mom and sister Evelyn where she took 2 years of what was then called Normal School and became a school teacher. She taught school at Wildon School near Loreburn and it was while there that she met David. On July 24, 1953, they were married at Bethany Lutheran Church, near Parkbeg. Their first home was the Stauffer farm 8 miles straight east of Hawarden which they rented from the Kvinge brothers. While farming east of Hawarden, 5 sons and one daughter were born to them: Daryl, Everald, Arlin, Vance, Marlys and Duane. During this time the family was actively involved at Skudesnes Lutheran Church. In the winter when the roads were sometimes blocked for long periods of time we did Sunday School at home and Grandpa Olson would sometimes have church at his house for the family. In 1964, Dad and Mom bought the Victor Mann farm on the highway outside Hawarden and moved there. During this time another daughter Julie was born. In 1968, at the invitation of Pastor Curtis Satre, the family moved to Chelan, Saskatchewan to farm the Satre's and Nilson's land. Dad and Mom bought one quarter and they lived there for three years. During those three years we were involved in Chelan Lutheran Church where mom took her turn teaching Sunday School and playing the old pump organ for church. We used to joke that our family had increased the attendance at Chelan Lutheran by one third. In the summer of 1971, the family moved back to the Archibald farm at Strongfield and it was this year that Holly was born. Dad and mom bought the half section from dad's uncle Norman Archibald and rented another half section. He also farmed grandpa Joel's section of land at Hawarden for a few years since Grandpa and Grandma Olson had retired to Strongfield. In 1974 dad and mom built a new house on the farm west of Strongfield where they continued to farm until Dad passed away in 1989. About a year later mom moved to Camrose, Alberta. There she worked as mission home hostess and bookkeeper for the World Mission Prayer League, a Lutheran Mission Society. Mom very much enjoyed her work with World Mission Prayer League. There she became re-acquainted with many old friends from SLBI days in Outlook and made many new friends. She resided in Camrose right up until 2001. In December 2001, mom was hospitalized, with four blocked arteries. In Jan. 2002 she had quadruple bypass surgery. Three days later she partially lost her sight. In May 2002, she moved to an apartment in Regina to be close to family living there. On February 21, 2003, she was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas and on March 14, 6:25AM, she passed away peacefully at the Regina General Hospital. Our mother, Florence loved to laugh. When ever she came to visit any of her children and grandchildren there was usually lots of stories and lots of laughter. Mom had a living faith in the Lord Jesus and was actively involved in the church all her life. Bedtime devotions, singing and prayer were a regular routine when we as children were younger. Mom loved to play the piano and sing. She enjoyed talking theology and we remember her and grandpa Olson spending many a Sunday afternoon in heavy discussion. Mom enjoyed travelling to visit her kids and grand kids. Even in her last year she talked about going to Central Asia to see Arlin and Ruth and family and to England to see Vance and Sarah. We give thanks to God for a wonderful Christian mother and grandmother who blessed our lives with so much love and good memories.

Some Pictures of Siblings Families

Here is a picture of Vance and Children, Matthew, Joseph, Vance holding Lily-Marie, Steven and Jonathan.


Below is Sarah holding Lily-Marie.

Here is Arlin's family. Ben, Lois, Arlin, Ruth, Tim

Karen and Daniel.

I realized that I have no digital pictures of my other siblings families. Some of us were together for Thanksgiving but forgot to take pictures.

My Siblings

As I said in a previous post, I thought I would give a bit of family history. Here is a picture of my siblings, I will tell you where they all live and what they all do. Backrow left to right: Duane Olson, he lives in Saskatoon and has his own business called Nutech Industries which is a machine shop as Duane is a machinist by trade. He has two boys David and Thomas. Next Daryl Olson [You have read my life history in my first post] Holly Sentz, my youngest sister lives in Regina and is a professional photographer. She works in the medical field developing pictures. She is married to Dale Sentz and they have no children. Arlin and Ruth have five children, Lois, Ben, Karen, Tim and Daniel.

Front Row: Everald Olson lives in Camrose Alberta and works for Frank Flaman Sales out of Leduc. He also farms the home quarter at Strongfield, Sk. and rents out the rest of his land there. He is married to Holly and they have two girls, Everly who is married to Neil Larson and they have a baby girl Kobie Ann. And Chelsea who is married to Steve Kerr. Julie Ursin, lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she works as a Doctor's assistant. She has two children, Zachary and Alexandra. Marlys Kennedy lives in Saskatoon where she works for the Royal Bank. She has two children Christie and Joshua. Vance Olson is presently living in Fort Mill, South Carolina where his wife Sarah is going to a Bible School and Vance is writing some books and overseeing his machine shop business back in Alnwick, England. They have five children. Jonathan, Matthew, Joseph, Steven and Lily-Marie. This picture was taken in the Regina General Hospital in March 2003 shortly before our mother passed away. This was the last time we were all together.

My Immediate Family

Let me introduce you to my immediate family. In June of this year the congregation of Bethlehem Lutheran here in Outlook put on a party to celebrate my 25 years in the ministry. This picture was taken beside our house that day. Left to right, Kirstin our oldest daughter, Her husband Murray Sutcliffe, Sherryl (my wife) Daryl, our son Kenny, the youngest, Karla (Our second daughter and her husband Scott Gjesdal. Our third daughter Krystal is in the other photo. She could not be with us that day because she was tree-planting in B.C.

An Introduction

Hi I thought it would be interesting to create a blog with some family history for all those Norskies in our family who like family history like me. So let me begin by introducing myself. I'm a 1954 model, born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. I was baptized by Pastor Trygve Dahle at Skudesnes Evangelical Lutheran Church near Loreburn. My paternal Grandparents were my sponsors. I spent the first 12 years of my life at Hawarden, Saskatchewan, where I grew up on a farm, 8 miles east of the villlage. I attended Mountain Ash Country School for grades 1 and 2. In 1964 our family moved to an acreage just outside Hawarden on Highway 19. When the country school was closed we were bused to Hawarden where I took Grades 3 through 8. At the beginning of grade 9 our family moved to Chelan, Saskatchewan. I took grade 9, 10 and 11 at Bjorkdale Saskatchewan. I took my confirmation instruction in Porcupine Plain Saskatchewan and was confirmed on Reformation Sunday 1969. In the summer of 1971 my family moved to the Archibald farm 2 miles west of Strongfield. I took my grade 12 year at Loreburn Central High School and graduated in June 1972. That summer I took a week job at the Wigs at Eastend, Saskatchewan, hauling bales. The remainder of the summer I worked for Vernon Thoring, at Frontier. In September 1972 I went off to Bible School at Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute in Camrose. In the summer of 1973, I was on a singing team from CLBI and I toured Alberta and B.C. for three months, singing in Churches and working at Bible camps. In the fall of 1973, I returned as a second year to CLBI. It was during this year that I sensed a strong call from God to go into the ministry full time. I also met my wife to be that year. In the spring of 1974, I again toured with a singing group for a month and then got a job in a saw mill in Mackenzie, B.C. for the rest of the summer. In September, I got a job working for Nelson Homes in Frontier Saskatchewan and so I went to Frontier and lived with my cousin Sterling and built houses. I also got my school bus liscense in January 1975 and I drove school bus south of Frontier along the Canadian, USA border. I also switched jobs in January and got a job working at Friggstad manufacturing south of Frontier, first as an iron worker and then a welder. We build cultivators and Bale Wagons. In the fall of 1975 I had registered at Camrose Lutheran College for first year University. So that September, I packed up my 1965 Ford Falcon and head for Camrose. I rented a suite with two Bible School friends Devin Pfahl and Paul Knudtson. In May of 1976, I did a tour with the Camrose Lutheran College Choir through the Peace River Country. In the summer of 1976, I got a job working for Daryl Olson, a farmer just out of Camrose, who I had done chores for during my last year of Bible School. That fall I again returned to Camrose Lutheran College for a second year of University. Again that spring I toured with the CLC choir, this time out to the lower mainland of B.C. When I returned on that tour, my wife to be Sherryl showed up in Edmonton at our final concert. She had been working as a short term missionary in Pakistan for the previous 2 and a half years. Our relationship resumed. That summer I went home to my parents at Strongfield and got a job running the Hundeby's D6 Caterpillar, burying rockpiles for farmers East of Loreburn. I graduated from CLC in 1977. In the fall of 1977, I took my last year of University at University of Alberta in Edmonton. That Spring I began a job at an Alberta Government Tree Nursery North of Edmonton. I then switched to working for my Dad's cousin Terry Olson at his Machine Shop in Hay Lakes. In May of 1978, I got engaged to Sherryl Jorgenson of Ponoka and on September 2 we were married. We honeymooned in Waterton and Glacier National parks and that fall moved to Saskatoon where I enrolled at Lutheran Theological Seminary taking two years of classes. The summer in between I worked for a company out of Melfort that put in underground power lines in the new subdivisions of Saskatoon. Sherryl worked as a nurse at the University Hospital. In 1980 we moved to Calgary, where I interned under Curtis Satre at Emmanuel Lutheran. Our oldest daughter Kirstin was born that year. In August of 1981, we moved back to Saskatoon where I took my last year of Seminary. I was ordained into the ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada on May 9, 1982 at my home congregation of Skudesnes Evangelical Lutheran church. Dr. Walt Koehler was the preacher and Pastor Curtis Satre and Uncle Tom Nilson and Pastor Ken Wilsdon presided at the service. I began my first call at Rose Valley Lutheran Parish in June. While we were there Karla and Krystal were born. We lived there four years and then moved to Donalda, Alberta. We served there for eight years and during that time Kenny was born. In 1994 we moved to Birch Hills Lutheran Parish. We lived there six years. In 2000 we moved to Outlook, Saskatchewan. Here we bought our first house and I serve Bethlehem Lutheran Church.