Funeral services for 89-year-old Catherine “Tina” Elaine Olson of St. James, Minnesota, will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday morning, February 17, 2017, at First Lutheran Church in St. James, with Reverend Maggie Cumings officiating. The church is located at 716 6th Avenue South.
Burial will be in West Sveadahl Lutheran Cemetery, located in rural St. James, north of Highway 30 on Sveadahl Road.
Visitation will be on Thursday, February 16, 2017 at Sturm Funeral Home-St. James Chapel in St. James from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The funeral home is located at 906 10th Avenue South. A second visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church on Friday.
Online condolences to the family may be sent at: www.sturmfh.com.
Arrangements are with Sturm Funeral Home-St. James Chapel.
Catherine “Tina” Olson passed away on February 14, 2017 at Gold Finch Estates in Fairmont, Minnesota – in doing so, was able to celebrate Valentine’s Day with her husband once again.
Catherine Elaine (Sawatzky) Olson was born on April 1, 1927, the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Reimer) Sawatzky in St James. She was affectionately referred to as
Tina by family and friends, and G-Tina by her grandchildren.
Tina grew up on a small farm near Sveadahl, Minnesota. She attended and graduated from St James High School in 1945.
Tina was united in marriage to Kenneth E. Olson on April 5, 1946, at the Mennonite Church near Butterfield, Minnesota. They spent most of their lives in Sveadahl and St James. They spent 41 years together until Ken passed away in 1987.
As a young adult, Tina worked at JCPenney in St. James. She also packaged and distributed “Tina’s Potato Chips” to businesses in the St James area.
Her sister’s family owned a general store in Sveadahl where she and Ken were the store managers for many years. They were actively involved at the West Sveadahl Church.
When the family moved to St. James, she worked at the St. James Plaindealer, Advertiser and “after retirement,” became the site manager for the Butterfield Senior Citizens Nutrition Program.
In her spare time, Tina liked to travel, but her favorite destination was her
cabin on Lake Stony in Alexandria, Minnesota. Many precious family memories were
made throughout the years at the lake. Tina also loved to take trips with
family and friends, including cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska, a trip to
Australia, multiple trips for bowling competitions and trips to Las Vegas, Nevada
for some fun!
Tina’s hobbies included rollerskating, dancing, bowling, girls’ weekends, going to sporting events, watching the Minnesota Twins, reading and being with her family.
Left to cherish her memory are her children, Roger (Peggy) Olson of Coon
Rapids, Minnesota, Rachel (Bruce) Dougherty and Steve (Marsha) Olson, all of St James and Mary Granheim of Fairmont; grandchildren, Jade (LeAnn)
Anderson of St James, Ryan Olson of Prior Lake, Minnesota, Jesica (Jay) Ryan of
Tea, South Dakota, Quinn Olson and Stephanie of Bethel, Minnesota, Sara (Richard) Deering of Plymouth, Minnesota, Brandon (Nikki) Olson of Burnsville, Minnesota, Tom (Nicole) Anderson of St James, Katy (Ross) Magnuson of Marshall, Minnesota, Brett (Stacy) Olson of Champlin, Minneosta, Jacob Granheim of New Brighton, Minnesota and Kyle Olson of Burnsville; 13 great grandchildren with another one due in April;
brother, Jacob (Wanda) Sawatzky of Bonderant, Iowa; sisters-in-law, IdaBeth Amundson,
Bernice Olson, JaNette Flogstad and Lorraine Sawatzky; as well as many nieces,
nephews, extended family and friends.
Tina was preceded in death by her parents; Jacob and Mary Sawatzky; husband, Kenneth Olson; siblings, Ethel (Reinhart) Steinle, Ervin (Marie) Sawatzky, Harry Sawatzky and Donald Sawatzky; two infant brothers; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Victor and Edna Olson and special friend, Bertil Rask.