Stanley Orlando Olson

Though our hearts are heavy, we are grateful for the life of Stanley Orlando Olson, whose faith guided him to eternal life. Stanley, age 84, passed away peacefully on November 20th, 2025, in Hayward, Wisconsin.

He was born on November 13th, 1941, in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to Irene and Orlando Olson. His love of horses led him to meet the love of his life, Jacqueline, whom he married on August 10th, 1963. Over the next 62 years, Stan and Jackie created a rich, wonderful, and loving life together, raising 3 children and hand in hand, pursuing their love of the outdoors, animals, and anything involving family.

Stanley spent over 30 years of dedicated service in law enforcement, primarily as a deputy and court officer for the LaCrosse County Sheriff's Department but also including time with the Onalaska and West Salem police departments as well as the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Becoming a horse farrier and raising horses and many other animals on their Barre Mills hobby farm, Stan passed his love of animals and horses on to his children and spent countless hours outdoors, in the barn, in the corral, and at horse shows and state fairs doing what he loved and supporting and encouraging his children to do the same.

Stan was also an avid fisherman and loved spending time on the water, either on the Mississippi River on their houseboat or camping on the lakes of northern Wisconsin. This love of water and the outdoors led Jackie and Stan to retire and move to Moose Lake near Hayward, Wisconsin where he spent 27 years doing all of the things he loved, including fishing, snowmobiling, ATVing, working with wood, and sharing these things with his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Stan was a devout Christian who devoted much of his time in retirement to serving Christ through servitude to others. Whether it was spending time helping at church, attending bible studies, sitting with those who were ill, or helping neighbors, Stan was someone who could always be counted on in times of need.

Stan was extremely proud of his children and their accomplishments and was always there to support them. He was also a very loving grandfather, attending sporting events, dance recitals, choir concerts, and musicals for all four of his grandkids.

Stan is survived by his wife, Jackie, daughter, Lisa (Robert) Barrix, son, Chris (Bobbi Jo) Olson, grandchildren, Jacob Barrix, Isabelle Olson, Dakota Olson and Sophia Olson, brother-in-law, Bill (Barb) Kramer, and nieces Heather (Brad) O'Neill and Angela (Todd) Hetherington. He was preceded in death by his parents and his son, Timothy.

There will be a memorial service celebrating Stan's life at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 1, 2025, at First Lutheran Church in Hayward with Pastor Joel Bacon officiating. A time of gathering will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at the church on Monday, December 1st.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First Lutheran Church or Samaritan's Purse, both of which were important to Stan.