1950
David
2014
David Olson
July 11, 1950 — August 27, 2014
A Celebration of Life will be held for David L. Olson, age 64 of New York Mills, Minnesota on Thursday, September 4, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.at Augustana Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota with Pastor Ben Dorbin officiating. The honorary pallbearers are Joey Rud, Dean "Peanuts" Perala, Scott Koennicke, Doug Thorson & Devlin Hessig. Military Honors will be provided by the Memorial Color Guard and Rifle Squad of the Harold T. Swenson V.F.W. Post #612 of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. David will be laid to rest in Knollwood Cemetery in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
David was born on July 11, 1950 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. His parents are Arlene (Hagen) Olson and the late Weldon L. Olson. Dave honorably served his country in the United States Army from 1968 to 1971. He was a Combat Field Medic and M.P as he performed a tour of duty in Korea. On December 26, 1968 David was united in marriage with Mary Jo Pachel in Fergus Falls, MN. David and Mary were married for 22 years and their marriage was blessed with 4 children.
From 1971-1974 David was employed with the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Department in Fergus Falls as a custodian and shortly after being hired he was promoted to jailer. As he entered law enforcement, he was the Chief of Police in Battle Lake. In 1975, he accepted a Police Officer position in New York Mills and Dave and Mary made their home there. In 1979, David accepted the position of Chief of Police with the New York Mills Police Department, and he served as chief until retiring in 1992. David loved to fly as he earned his pilot license in 1981. He was very proud to own and fly his own plane.
David, also known by many as "Big Dave", had many interests including hunting and trapping. He particularly enjoyed the antelope hunting trips in Wyoming with sons and friends. Dave was an avid marksman and won many marksman competitions. He took a special interest in gun collecting and building guns. Dave had a tremendous amount of knowledge about guns and loved to share with his family and friends. He was very intelligent in general and seemed to know "a lot about everything" and he thoroughly enjoyed sharing that knowledge with people around him.
On March 25th, 1994, Dave was married to long time friend, Ellen Gropper. They made their home in New York Mills and were married for 16 years. Dave and Ellen enjoyed spending family time with all their children and hosted many gatherings and picnics for them. They also enjoyed traveling to Arizona where they gold prospected.
Perhaps Dave's most beloved hobby with his boys was drag racing. They started in 1994 with drag racing his car at BIR in Brainerd and later discovered the racetrack in Sabin, Minnesota. Eventually Dave retired his car and enjoyed watching his sons' drag race their snowmobiles, he was their biggest fan. They raced for nearly a decade together as Trail Blazers Racing.
He had a very special bond with only daughter. She would frequently stop by his house and they would have date nights. They would spend quality time with each other, cooking and eating fancy meals, or watching movies and just having that special cuddle time in his chair.
Dave passed away on August 27, 2014 in Frazee, Minnesota at 64 years of age. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends. Preceding Dave in death was his father, Weldon Olson and nephew, Leif Olson.
Dave is survived by his children: David Jr. (Delaney) Olson of Menahga, Matthew
(Vicki) Olson of New York Mills, Mark Olson of New York Mills, Christina (Joe) Weappa of New York Mills; his Step-children: Trudy Gropper of New York Mills; Trent (Riika) Gropper of Richmond; his mother, Arlene Olson of Fergus Falls; 11 grandchildren: James (Emma), Samantha, Erik, Michael, Cailey, Boyd, Lynsey, Christian, Lexis, Carson and Colton; 5 step-grandchildren: Zavier, Morgan, Jeremy, Tyler and Cheyenne; siblings: Richard (Debbie) Olson and Connie (James) Pitera; nieces: Heidi (Nathan) and Heather; his adored dogs who were always with him: Knute, Scout and RJ and special friends who have deeply touched his heart: Mary Pudas, Ellen Olson, Joey Rud, Doug Thorson, Dean "Peanuts" & Randy "Mickey" Perala and their families, and a host of family and friends.
Memorial Service: 2 pm, Thursday September 4, 2014 at Augustana Lutheran Church, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Visitation: 4-7 PM, Wednesday, at Karvonen Funeral Home in New York Mills, and one hour prior to the service at the church
Clergy: Rev. Ben Durbin
Military Rites: Fergus Falls VFW Post 612 and American Legion Post 30
Cemetery: Knollwood Memorial Gardens, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Funeral Home: Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls,
Condolences: www.GlendeNilson.com
David was born on July 11, 1950 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. His parents are Arlene (Hagen) Olson and the late Weldon L. Olson. Dave honorably served his country in the United States Army from 1968 to 1971. He was a Combat Field Medic and M.P as he performed a tour of duty in Korea. On December 26, 1968 David was united in marriage with Mary Jo Pachel in Fergus Falls, MN. David and Mary were married for 22 years and their marriage was blessed with 4 children.
From 1971-1974 David was employed with the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Department in Fergus Falls as a custodian and shortly after being hired he was promoted to jailer. As he entered law enforcement, he was the Chief of Police in Battle Lake. In 1975, he accepted a Police Officer position in New York Mills and Dave and Mary made their home there. In 1979, David accepted the position of Chief of Police with the New York Mills Police Department, and he served as chief until retiring in 1992. David loved to fly as he earned his pilot license in 1981. He was very proud to own and fly his own plane.
David, also known by many as "Big Dave", had many interests including hunting and trapping. He particularly enjoyed the antelope hunting trips in Wyoming with sons and friends. Dave was an avid marksman and won many marksman competitions. He took a special interest in gun collecting and building guns. Dave had a tremendous amount of knowledge about guns and loved to share with his family and friends. He was very intelligent in general and seemed to know "a lot about everything" and he thoroughly enjoyed sharing that knowledge with people around him.
On March 25th, 1994, Dave was married to long time friend, Ellen Gropper. They made their home in New York Mills and were married for 16 years. Dave and Ellen enjoyed spending family time with all their children and hosted many gatherings and picnics for them. They also enjoyed traveling to Arizona where they gold prospected.
Perhaps Dave's most beloved hobby with his boys was drag racing. They started in 1994 with drag racing his car at BIR in Brainerd and later discovered the racetrack in Sabin, Minnesota. Eventually Dave retired his car and enjoyed watching his sons' drag race their snowmobiles, he was their biggest fan. They raced for nearly a decade together as Trail Blazers Racing.
He had a very special bond with only daughter. She would frequently stop by his house and they would have date nights. They would spend quality time with each other, cooking and eating fancy meals, or watching movies and just having that special cuddle time in his chair.
Dave passed away on August 27, 2014 in Frazee, Minnesota at 64 years of age. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends. Preceding Dave in death was his father, Weldon Olson and nephew, Leif Olson.
Dave is survived by his children: David Jr. (Delaney) Olson of Menahga, Matthew
(Vicki) Olson of New York Mills, Mark Olson of New York Mills, Christina (Joe) Weappa of New York Mills; his Step-children: Trudy Gropper of New York Mills; Trent (Riika) Gropper of Richmond; his mother, Arlene Olson of Fergus Falls; 11 grandchildren: James (Emma), Samantha, Erik, Michael, Cailey, Boyd, Lynsey, Christian, Lexis, Carson and Colton; 5 step-grandchildren: Zavier, Morgan, Jeremy, Tyler and Cheyenne; siblings: Richard (Debbie) Olson and Connie (James) Pitera; nieces: Heidi (Nathan) and Heather; his adored dogs who were always with him: Knute, Scout and RJ and special friends who have deeply touched his heart: Mary Pudas, Ellen Olson, Joey Rud, Doug Thorson, Dean "Peanuts" & Randy "Mickey" Perala and their families, and a host of family and friends.
Memorial Service: 2 pm, Thursday September 4, 2014 at Augustana Lutheran Church, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Visitation: 4-7 PM, Wednesday, at Karvonen Funeral Home in New York Mills, and one hour prior to the service at the church
Clergy: Rev. Ben Durbin
Military Rites: Fergus Falls VFW Post 612 and American Legion Post 30
Cemetery: Knollwood Memorial Gardens, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Funeral Home: Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls,
Condolences: www.GlendeNilson.com
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