Martha Raimer (Smith) Olson
May 31, 1936-November 12, 2020
Martha Raimer (Smith) Olson was born May 31, 1936, in Ames, Iowa, to parents Harold Seaburn Smith and Neva Maurine Raimer Smith. She was the seventh of eleven children and the fourth of five daughters.
She completed high school in Forest City, graduated from Waldorf College with an associate's degree, and taught elementary school in California for two years. She returned to school at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, as an Art major where she met her husband of 61 years, Arthur Richard “Dick” Olson ‘59. They were married in Loveland, Colo., Aug. 31, 1959, and began a life together moving around the country and world. They count some 30 residences during their marriage including homes in N.Y., Tenn., Minn., Conn., Fla., Iowa, as well as living for nearly a decade in Southeast Asia: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam.
She completed her B.S. at SUNY-Binghamton in 1976 and worked at Allied Van Lines, Quarry Hill Mental Health Treatment Center, and volunteered as a probation officer for Olmsted County.
She was a voracious reader and rigorous student of the Bible as well as Buddhist and Hindu religious writings. She enjoyed quilting - especially with her sisters, and cards with her family. She practiced calligraphKana and Kanji, and loved tea parties with her grandkids. She was a golfer and skier, and she and Dick paddled the BWCA and Quetico many summers with dear friends. She was a gracious host and enjoyed entertaining family and friends at the Olson cottage on Lake Minnewaska in Glenwood, Minn.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Neva; brothers, John, Luther, Jamie, and Myrus and sisters, Ann (Jenkins) and Nancy (Baker). She is survived by her husband, Dick Olson ‘59; brothers, David (Norma), and Steven (Nancy); sisters, Jane Stiles, Mary Critchlow; children, Randy (Kris), Kendrick, and Kirstin Olson ‘89 (Wolfe); and by six grandchildren, Aren and Marin Olson, Lukas and Leah Olson and Sonja and Ingrid Melaas. Memorials can be directed to: Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research, Alzheimer's Association, Ecumen Hospice Arr. Dare's Funeral Home 763-441-1212 www.daresfuneralhome.com