Mrs. Audrey Marie Olson

Audrey Marie (Marsolf) Olson, 96, of Lincoln, passed away at Clark Jeary on Friday, May 30. Audrey was born July 25, 1917 in a sod house near May, Oklahoma. She was the last of ten children born to Elsie Adella (Gerard) Marsolf and William Franklin Marsolf. In March of 1918, her family moved from May to Wichita, KS traveling by covered wagon. Audrey attended grade school and high school in Wichita. She then attended business school for one year before going to work as a medical lab technician for a Wichita hospital. In 1939 Audrey moved to Oakland, NE to live with her older sister Zella Hultquist. While living with Zella, Audrey attended Wayne State teachers college for one year and then taught in a country school for a year. While in Oakland, Audrey met her husband Virgil. Virgil and Audrey were married at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska on June 14, 1941. They then made their home in Oakland. During WWII, while Virgil was serving in the Army Air Corp, they lived in Atlantic City, NJ and Fort Meyers, FL. During their time in Fort Meyers they adopted their son Kent. After the war they returned to Oakland. It was here that they adopted their daughter Deitra. In 1952, Virgil and Audrey moved to Pawnee City, Nebraska where they owned and operated a hardware store until 1975. They then retired and moved to Loveland, Colorado where they lived for 9 years before returning to Lincoln, NE in 1984. Audrey had many fond memories of their time in Oakland, Pawnee City and Loveland. Audrey was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church and served in local and district positions in the Education Division. Audrey was preceded in death by her parents, her 4 brothers (Clarence, Howard, Orville, and Charles) and 5 sisters (Edith, Blanch, Zella, Hattie, and Lillie), and her husband of 64 years, Virgil. Audrey is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Virgil Kent and Barbara Jean Olson of Lincoln, her daughter Deitra Lee Mazurak of California, 5 grandchildren (Candie, Greg, Tiffany, Tami, and Tori), and 13 great grandchildren. Because she was the youngest in her family and had many nieces and nephews that were of similar age as Audrey, they were always an important part of her life. Audrey loved spending time with family.