Esther G Olson

Esther G. Olson was born in Hayward, Wisconsin, Oct. 1923 to Arthur and Etta Hageman.
She grew up in Hayward with 1 brother and 7 sisters. Times were tough then and they were dependent on raising their own food. Esther's parents grew a large garden and all of the children helped plant and harvest the crops. Then they canned and preserved it all. They had horses that pulled farm equipment and were also used to pull a wagon, their only transportation to town. There were not many modern conveniences, no electricity, running water, or indoor bathrooms, but she said they had everything they needed. She always talked about how hard everyone in the family had to work. But they did have fun as well. They went to a lot of dances and that is where she met her husband Bernard. They dated for a year before he asked her to marry him and they married on January 2, 1943. Soon they started their family. They had 2 sons, Edward and Frederick (Fritz) and a daughter, Gloria.
They bought and cleared land and built a home and a small dairy. Bernard had to work a second job, and so a lot of the dairy work was done by Esther and the kids. In 1963 They sold everything and moved to Moses Lake, Washington to be near family. Here Esther got her first driver's license at 43 years old. She worked at Country Gardens potato plant for a while but then worked wherever Bernard worked whether it was on a farm, managing a tire store or selling Christmas trees. In between those jobs they were able to travel, visiting many of the States. They had also moved to Warden, WA and this is where she lost her dear husband in 1986. Eventually a friend got her going to the Warden Senior Center. She loved it and made many friends. One of her dear friends, Lahoma Pittman, got her to enter her beautiful handmade quilts in the Grant County and Othello fairs, where she won many ribbons and awards including Best of Show.
In 2002 her dear daughter and close companion, Gloria, passed away and it was really hard on her. Then she lost her son Fritz in 2010. As time passed she didn't want to live alone but still wanted her independence and moved to Pioneer Village Apartments. Again she made many wonderful friends. In 2021 she was having health problems and so she moved to Coventry House Assisted Living in Othello, WA. She totally loved the workers there and enjoyed living there. She also enjoyed playing Bingo, embroidering dish towels and doing Word Find puzzles. She was used to being busy and active up until a few weeks ago.
Her big goal was to make it to 100 years old and she did! And she was able to celebrate this big event with most of her family.
She loved her family more than anything and tried to support them in everything they did until she couldn't anymore.
She passed away at Coventry House, February 24, 2024
She was preceded in death by her parents, and all of her siblings, her daughter Gloria and son Fritz, and 2 great grand children.
She is survived by her son Edward and wife Lorrie and a daughter in law Martha.
14 Grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren and 8 great great grandchildren And also many granddaughters and great granddaughters-in-law.
We would like to thank the wonderful helpers at Coventry House and Hospice for their loving care.