Gene L. Olson, age 80, of Waubun, MN, died Sunday, February 14, 2016, in Fertile, MN, surrounded by loving family.

Gene Lester Olson, the son of Martin and Agnes (Nelson) Olson, was born on November 15, 1935.   Like many children of that generation, he was delivered at home by a midwife and his grandmother.   Gene was born with a cleft palate and at only 18 days old, he and his mother took a train to Gillette State Hospital in St. Paul, MN. He spent the first several years of his life in St. Paul and underwent many surgeries. Gene later returned to join his family on the farm near Gary, MN, where he continued his medical and dental treatments as well as speech therapy. Following his graduation from Gary High School in 1954, Gene helped his father on the farm for a few years. He then worked at American Crystal Sugar Company and with a plumbing company for a time. He was married in 1957 and was blessed with four children. Gene moved to West Fargo, ND, and began driving truck with Hart Motor Company.   On June 12, 1971, Gene was united in marriage to Edna Peterson and they continued to live in the Fargo area where they raised his four teenage children and later helped with one of Edna's grandsons. Due to an injury, Gene retired from trucking in his late 40's. In 1990, he and Edna moved to a home on White Earth Lake. Edna passed away in 2002 and shortly thereafter an old friendship was re-kindled with Myra Kaste. Myra and Gene have spent the last 13 years sharing their life together. They made their home in Fertile and spent many of their years together raising three of her grandchildren. Nearly every weekend was spent at the lake home with family and friends.

Gene loved to fish and the lake was his favorite place to be. He enjoyed listening to country music, traveling, and spent many hours playing Bingo. He and Myra were able to take many memorable trips to the East Coast, California, Nashville, and many other areas around the United States. He also liked to play cards, especially with their lake neighbors, Beans and Alice Wander. Gene was always ready to go out and eat and was never too busy to visit with neighbors and friends. In his younger years, he held memberships with the Sons of Norway, Teamsters as a union steward and more recently he was very active with Global Missions. Gene had a very strong faith and God was the cornerstone of his life. He was appreciative of the gifts he had in his life and always looked for the positive in any situation. Gene cherished all of his family, through blood, marriage and friendship, and he treasured each moment spent with those he loved.

Gene is survived by his loving companion, Myra Kaste of Fertile; three children: Rodney (Gail) of Mapleton, ND, Randy (Lisa) of West Fargo, and Renae (Joe) Kraft of West Fargo; three step-daughters: Gina DeGroat of West Fargo, Romona (Doug) Manning of Necedah, WI, and Debbie (Darrell) Johnson of West Fargo; Myra's children: Kim (Chuck) Goering, Keith (Diane) Kaste, Kenny (Tammi) Kaste, Kay Rohrer, and Kelvin Kaste; 31 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren; two brothers, Owen (Donna) Olson and Lyle (Kathy) Olson; and two sisters, Muriel McCollum and Arlene (Dave) Steiger.

Gene was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Edna; daughter, Rebecca; granddaughter, Morgan; sister, G. Myrtle (Karl) Strand; son-in law, Lyle DeGroat Jr; and brothers-in-law, Harold McCollum and John Nansen.

Funeral services were held Saturday, February 20, 2016, at 10:00 am at Little Norway Church, rural Fertile, MN. Visitation was held Friday, February 19, 2016, at the Anderson Family Funeral Home in Mahnomen, MN, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm with a prayer service at 6:30 pm. Interment was at City of Ogema Cemetery, Ogema, MN.