Ollie Evanson

Memorial services for Ollie Evanson will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at Calvary Lutheran Church in Lemmon with Pastor Bob Edwards, officiating. Interment will be in Greenhill Cemetery with a reception following at the Dakota Lodge in Lemmon.
    The Arms of God welcomed Olive Jeanette Evanson, 96, of Lemmon SD as she passed away on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at Five Counties Nursing Home. Her daughter Darlene and son-in-law Dick were with Ollie during the final days of her journey.
    Olive, better known as Ollie, the daughter of Ole and Julia Hanson was born March 31, 1918 in Aberdeen SD. After the death of her parents Ollie moved to the Lemmon area in 1934 to stay with her Aunt and Uncle Henry Halverson on a farm south of Shadehill. She was working at the Aristo Café in Lemmon at the age of 16 where she soon met her future husband Vernon “Evie” Evanson. They were married in the Calvary Lutheran Church in Lemmon on June 25, 1941. Calvary became a large part of their lives. She and Evie were very involved in every aspect of the church positions/activities. She served on the Altar Guild, taught Sunday School, was co-chaperone for Jr. and Sr. Luther League and lent her voice to the choir for more than 50 years.
    After their marriage Ollie began work in the Evanson Furniture store with Evie’s parents while he served in the US Army during World War II. During her years working side by side with her husband, she became a selection advisor to many of the customers. She was highly aware and meticulous about the appearance of the store, store windows and the furniture within, always wanting to make sure that the customers felt a friendly welcome and left with a satisfied experience. She loved to complain to Evie that she never earned a paycheck working in the store and he would tell her he put a comfortable roof over her head…….they would get a wonderful laugh over this for many, many years.
    As a mom to her only daughter, Darlene, she was always her biggest supporter in anything she chose to do. Giving advice was also her strong suit. As with any mom/daughter relationship the advice was not always followed but in later years was dealt with a lot of humor. Ollie was involved in the first Jaycee Chapter in Lemmon, the Lemmon American Legion, and the Lemmon Chamber of Commerce. She was a long-time member of Chapter AH PEO. She was also an avid golfer and gardener and was involved in the development of the Lemmon Country Club and golf course. Ollie’s proud golf moment was beating three excellent male golfers that included her husband. She outscored them and kept the scorecard to prove it.
    She was well known as a wonderful cook and hostess. Most famous were her orange rolls that were deliciously received by many. Her grandson, Scott, as a very little guy, asked Grandma Ollie for a “cake in the bag”. Not having the faintest idea of what that was, she did some detective work and discovered that he was talking about cupcakes with the baking wrapper. Her granddaughters Melissa and Lindsay-Paige always enjoyed her “secret drawer” that was filled with their favorite candy/gum.
    She and Evie loved to travel and they spent many winters golfing and meeting with friends/family during their winters in Palm Springs, California.
    Ollie was preceded in death by her loving husband Evie in 2012 and is survived by their daughter Darlene Goebel and her husband Dick Goebel now living in Spearfish SD and Phoenix AZ. She has three wonderful grandchildren, Richard Scott Evanson Goebel of Spring Hill, Tennessee, Melissa Anne Leone of Palm Desert, California, and Lindsay-Paige Veitenheimer of Pasadena, Maryland. She also has five great-grandchildren, Corena, Dylan, Megan, Riley and Kyliah.
    Her family would like to thank the Five Counties Nursing Home and staff for the tremendous care provided to Ollie during her extended stay at the facility. Also, words cannot express the wonderful support given to Darlene and family by her many special friends during these last few years.
    Condolences may be sent to the family at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com.