Today we remember and honour one of the finest souls ever born, a beautiful diamond with a golden heart and soul strong like steel: Louise Olson.
On February 19th one year ago Heaven gained a faithful follower of Jesus Christ into the eternal kingdom of peace. The funeral was bitter and sweet. Bitter for two reasons: a great woman laid cold in her coffin and also the fact that it was February, which means we were cold as well. Sweet for two reasons: this woman lived a full life and experienced many blessings and also the funeral lunch had a plethora of brownies and date squares.
Today we remember some of the things that Louise loved:
- God her Father
- Jesus her Saviour
- The Holy Spirit her comforter and strength
- Her family and many friends
- Lots of sugar in her tea, at least five teaspoons
- Fresh, ripe, hand-picked from her garden, warm from the sun, tomatoes with salt and pepper
- Yellow roses
- Country singer Jim Reeves, which reminded her of her special husband, Clarence Olson
- Aniseed roast chicken with carrots and potatoes
- Eating out at restaurants; eating in general
- Spoiling her grandchildren with junk food
- Laughing until it hurt
- When nephew Peter Reimer would sing comedy songs about her at family gatherings
- Getting and giving hugs
- Giving bubble gum to children in church
- Watching the pastor scrape bubble gum off the sidewalk in front of the church
- Stock-piling sweets in the famous candy drawer located in her bedroom dresser – having it in close proximity to her bed was important
- Shopping/browsing at Walmart/Zellers/grocery stores
- When her Greek son-in-law would bring Ztaztiki and Ouzo to Mennonite Christmas functions
- Hearing grand-daughter Elena play violin
- Buying things (lots of things) from the Self-Help store in Morris
- Folding clean laundry, warm from the dryer
- Getting phone calls from her “Hollywood” sister Nita, having her brother Syd take care of all her business, and being chauffeured around by her sister Charlotte
- Cooking, feeding people, and trying to fatten-up her skinny grandchildren
- Drinking ice-cold pop, especially Root Beer and carbonated lemonade
- Showing off her trophy grandchildren in church
- Sending cheques to her children and grandchildren for holidays and birthdays
- Male nurses – we all know this is why she spent nearly a year being on her death-bed in the Steinbach hospital
Daughter Bev sums up the feelings of the family on this one-year anniversary of Louise’s passing:
“It was so painful to say good-bye. We miss you beyond any words. Where you are we long to be. If only to look upon your lovely face and feel the warmth of your embrace. With every heartbeat we feel your pulse. You are ever present in our hearts. Your love flows through our veins. We miss you and love you dearly.”
Sincerely, truly, and lovingly,
Your family and friends
Dear Grandma,
It has been a year since we lost you and not a day goes by where pleasant memories of you don’t enter my thoughts. I miss your laugh the most and talking to you. I miss calling you every week for “Rosenort gossip” of which you always had plenty to share. It hurts me to know my daughters won’t grow up with your presence to guide them through life like I did. But you are with us in spirit and it lives on within me and my girls. If only we could be half the person you were….
With much love, your only granddaughter,
Elena
Amen to this. Yes, she was an awesome soul. You were so fortunate to have her as your mom and granny. I loved her chuckle and her big smile. Always ready for a good laugh. Yes Louise was our friend and cousin. We all loved her.