Anna W. Olson Memorial Scholarship

Anna (Faber) Olson, 88, of Willmar, formerly of Brainerd, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, at Bethesda Grand Nursing Home in Willmar. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, January 30, at United Lutheran Church in Lake Lillian. Burial will be in Tromso Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorials are preferred to the Lake Lillian Public Library. Arrangements are with Harvey Anderson Funeral Home in Willmar, www.hafh.org.

Anna was born April 7, 1934, in Middletown, New York, the oldest of ten children born to Nick and Tillie (Jellema) Faber. They moved to Artesia, California and after two years this family of four moved back to New York. After 17 years in New York, this family of twelve moved to Lake Lillian, Minnesota. At the age of 18 Anna moved to California where she was a housekeeper, but Minnesota was home so she moved to Minneapolis where she worked at a sewing factory. She lived in an apartment where she met friends who called themselves “The Apt 6.” These special friendships lasted her entire life.

After her marriage to Melvin Olson in 1967, they lived in Mel’s hometown of Brainerd, Minnesota where Mel worked for the railroad. They built a new home which Mel designed as a well as made a beautiful yard. After Mel’s death in 1983, Anna continued to clean residential homes. Many of her clients became like family to her. Anna lived in her home until after a fall in early 2018 when she moved to Bethany Nursing home in Brainerd. In late 2019, Anna moved to Bethesda Grand Nursing Home in Willmar.

Anna was an animal lover. She had many dogs, but her favorite was Lassie. There were also a few cats. She was a member of the garden club and was a great hostess. She also had a large collection of dolls and read countless books.

Anna blessed the Brainerd Public Schools Foundation with a generous gift from her estate. Her wishes were that we create a scholarship with 2/3 of the funds and grants with the remaining 1/3.