Fern Olson Obituary

Longtime area resident Fern Mae Olson died Friday, Sept. 13, 2013, at Four Corners Health Care Center in Durango. She was 90.

Mrs. Olson was born to James and Anna Vesper on May 27, 1923, in Maywood, Neb. At a very young age, she moved from Nebraska to Colorado. She attended school in Colorado and graduated from Durango High School. She went on to attend Fort Lewis College at its old campus near Hesperus.

She met Lyle Olson at a dance. The couple married Feb. 28, 1948.

Together they ranched and grew wheat in the Oxford area. While at home raising children, Mrs. Olson enjoyed cooking. She also liked to travel – Alaska, Carlsbad Caverns and California to name a few places – and gamble at the local casino. She watched "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" on a daily basis.

"And when she wasn't enjoying the line dancing at the nursing home, she tried to be a great escape artist and would get out of her wheelchair and turn the alarms off at the nursing home," her family said. "She was very ornery and funny at the same time. Her family was a very important part of her life. Whether it was her children, siblings, nieces and nephews, she loved them all and loved being around them."

Mrs. Olson was preceded in death by her husband, Lyle Olson, in 1985; and sons Norman Olson, Charles Olson and Lynn Olson.

She is survived by Chris Olson of Layton, Utah, and Mary Jo Wagner of Denver; brother, Russell Vesper of Lordsburg, N.M.; two granddaughters and one grandson; eight great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and other extended family members.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. today, Sept. 18, 2013, at Hood Mortuary Chapel, 1261 East Third Ave. A funeral will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013, also at Hood. The Rev. Reitz of Frontier Baptist Church will officiate. Burial will be at Greenmount Cemetery in Durango.