James "Ole" Lewis Olson

James Lewis (Ole) Olson was born on October 6th 1941 in Medford, Minnesota to Lewis and Pearl Olson. As a teenager he broke horses and even rode bulls in some local rodeos. He then went on to bone beef and worked for a packing plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, and later became the night foreman at Landy Packing in St.Cloud. 

He married Jeannine Lanoux on May 15th, 1970. They lived in South St. Paul and raised three childre: Larry McArdell of New Brighton, MN, Warren McArdell of Long Prarie, MN, and Stacy (Shane) Pederson of Osakis, MN. Ole and Jean moved to Alexandria, Minnesota on Lake Andrew in 1977 and bought the Forada Liquor Store in 1985. Ole loved to hunt and fish and when he retired and sold the bar in 2000 they spent every summer at Little Winnie Campground on Lake Winnebigoshish. 

Ole had a great sense of humor and made a lot of people laugh. He loved to spend time with his family. Ole is preceded in death by his father, mother, and wife. He is survived by his brother, Lewis Olson; sons, Larry and Warren; daughter, Stacy (Shane); as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.