Lorene (Smith) Olson

Lorene (Smith) Olson was born September 8, 1933 in Leon, Iowa to Thomas Willard Smith and Marjorie (Gibler) Smith.  She attended and graduated from Leon High School in 1952.  Growing up on a farm helped her learn the value of hard work,  and a love of life in the country.

On February 17, 1957, she was united in marriage to Donald Aron Olson at the First Baptist Church on High Street in Des Moines, Iowa.  To this union three children were born, Loren Donald, Joyce Lorene and Jayne Darlene.  Donald and Lorene lived on a farm near Lucas, Iowa.   On June 4, 1994, the family lost Don to his battle with cancer.

She enjoyed gardening and canned what she grew.  Lorene is very famous for her sweet pickles which took numerous weeks  to make.  She took pride in her canning skills and a friendly competition even developed between her and her brother Lloyd.  

Along with helping on the farm, she worked a few different jobs but her main career was with Northwestern Bell telephone company. At Bell, she worked in the Engineer Department mapping telephone lines and calculating cost of installation for new projects.  She was one of two people in the country tasked with this work, so later in her career she spent a few years traveling to train others.  Lorene retired in 1995 after 40 years working for Northwestern Bell.

Family was very important to Lorene and she was loved as a wife, mother and grandmother.  Lorene remained very active throughout her life.   She enjoyed attending family and the grandchildren events, outdoors and wildlife,  raising chickens, gardening and growing flowers, collecting cookbooks and cooking family meals.  The last ten years, she lived one mile away from her daughter Jayne where she continued to enjoy country living and being part of her daughter’s horse business. 

At a young age, Lorene accepted Christ into her heart, she has been faithful to the Lord and his teachings.  Lorene was a member of the First Baptist Church in Chariton, Iowa where she served as a Sunday School teacher and Deaconess among other duties.  Donald and Lorene made sure that they raised their children with the love of the Lord in their hearts.

Lorene is preceded in death by her husband Donald Olson, her parents Thomas and Marjorie Smith, her brother, Lloyd Smith and her sisters, Vivian Smith and Margaret Lisle.

She is survived by her children, Loren (Mary Lynn) Olson of Lucas, Joyce Olson of Des Moines, Jayne (Kent) Ruble of Carlisle, her granddaughters, Meredyth and Korynna Olson of Lucas, Katie White and family of Creston, Michaela Saucedo and family of Melbourne, FL, Victoria Ramirez and family of Kenner, LA,  her grandson, Wade Ruble of Carlisle, brother, Davie (Joan) Smith of New Virginia and sister, Macyl (Dan) Harlow of Rising Sun, Indiana.

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