Esther Olson

Esther (Hæåk) Olson, 98, of Luverne, Minnesota passed away on March 13, 2020 at the Sanford Hospice Cottage in Luverne. Esther was born in Lyngdal, Vest-Agder, Norway on June 25, 1921. When she was four years old, the family moved to nearby Konsmo where she grew up. In Norway, she enjoyed several kinds of sports: cross country skiing, hiking, swimming, and biking. She was educated in Norway and taught school for four years before emigrating to the U.S. in 1948. She married Toby Olson (Røinesdal) at the Norwegian Memorial Church in Minneapolis on September 1, 1948. They spent their life together farming in the Luverne area.

She was active as a Sunday School teacher, member of the church women’s group, and other ministries in Zion Lutheran Church and later in Grace Lutheran Church. She loved working for twenty years in the kitchen as a volunteer for the Rock County Senior Citizens Center for which the governor of Minnesota awarded her a certificate of commendation. She enjoyed crafts, needlework, gardening, cooking and baking. She loved to bake Norwegian delicacies, often alongside her sister Olga. Their two specialties were lefse and Norwegian wedding cakes. She traveled several times back to Norway to visit friends and relatives.

Esther is survived by three sons: Omar Olson (and his wife Sue Ellen), Kenneth Olson (and his wife Molly), and Dennis Olson (and his wife Carol); three grandchildren, Ingrid, Eric (and his wife Susan) and Kristen (and her husband Michael); four great-grandchildren, Amelia, Talia, Benjamin, and Ryan; one sister Torhild Hegeland in Norway; and one sister-in-law Karen Hæåk also in Norway; several nieces and nephews both in the U.S. and Norway, and other family and friends. Esther is preceded in death by her parents, Adolf and Ragna Hæåk, her husband Toby, one sister Olga (Thorson) Gabrielson, two brothers Reidar Hæåk and Rangvald Hæåk, and ten sisters- and brothers-in-law.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne or Generations (Senior Citizens Center) in Luverne.