Enid E. Olson

Enid left her earthly home on Sunday Morning, November 27. She was born in Beresford, S.D. to Rev. Ernest and Mrs. Esther (Dime) Martell. On April 25, 1942, she married Lawrence Olson of Worthington, MN. They had two daughters, Dawn and Lane. They made their home in Urbana, IL, where Enid taught English at Urbana High School. She later went to work for the National Council of Teachers of English in Champaign, IL. She also worked for a couple of years as director of publications of books at Reader’s Digest in New York.

Enid was a fountain of knowledge. One could “google” her brain for names, dates, and events. She remembered everything. Enid authored a book, Poems of Faith for the Christian Year and wrote numerous manuscripts for radio as well as writing a poem each year for the family Christmas card. She had a passion for all types of literature and poetry. She was a life-long member of the Lutheran Church (ELCA). She was a diligent, hard worker whether in her personal or professional life. She was considerate of all of her fellow human beings, whether they were of another race, culture, nationality, of religion as she felt there was knowledge to be gained in everyone she met.

Enid and Larry moved to Green Lake, Spicer, MN, when they retired and provided fun summers for grandchildren’s visits at their home on Green Lake, MN. Her grandchildren were a source of joy in her life and in whom she instilled a love of learning, books, reading, anything and everything. She also instilled the art of cleaning fish. This trait was not absorbed by all the grandchildren.

Enid was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and Esther Martell, and sister, Gloria Benson, her husband Larry, in 1994. Left behind to carry on her legacy are her two daughters, Dawn (Jim) Beckley of Rochester, MN and Lane (Joe) Updegrove of Fort Wayne, IN; her grandchildren, Amy (Curtis) Clancy of Fort Wayne, IN, Michael (Sharon) Beckley of Pleasanton, CA, Monica (Chris) Chapman of Dallas, TX, and Natalie Beckley of Byron, MN; her great-grandchildren, Donovan and Garrison Bryan, Ashton and Gabriela Beckley, and Daniel, Paul, and Issac Beckley. She is also survived by nine nephews and nieces. There will be a memorial service at a later date in Paynesville, MN and a graveside service in Illinois where she will be buried next to her husband.

Thank you to all at Stearns Place and Koronis Manor and Heartland Hospice who cared for our beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and friend.

“Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning to stay.”
-Christina Rosetti