Donald James Olson

Donald J. Olson, 101, formerly of Two Harbors, died Monday May 12, 2025, in Hillsboro, Oregon where he had moved to be closer to family.

Don was born January 18, 1924, to Henry and Clara (Kroberger) Olson in Two Harbors, Minnesota, where he grew up and attended school. He graduated from high school in 1942. He was a football player and had various jobs including newspaper delivery, grocery delivery, yard work for various people, and digging sewer and water lines.

After high school, he was employed by the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railroad in 1943. He was drafted during WWII and joined the navy from 1944 – 1946 where he was a Watertender 3 on the ship the Kula Gulf in the Pacific Ocean. After the war, he returned to work with the DM&IR and became a locomotive engineer until he retired in 1984.

Don married Elsie Larson on January 15, 1949, and they raised two children together, Roger and Nancy. He loved taking his kids ice skating, swimming, along with going to all the musical events that they participated in throughout their years in school. His hobbies included model trains, vegetable gardening and partridge hunting.

When Don retired in 1984, he and Elsie spent a lot of their retirement traveling, especially to California to visit Roger and his wife, Lisa, and to Oregon to visit Nancy and their two grandchildren, Daniel and Nicole.

Don was a member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church.

Don was preceded in death by his parents Henry and Clara, and his wife, Elsie.

He is survived by a son, Roger (Lisa) Olson; a daughter Nancy (Fred) Burns; grandchildren Daniel (Leah) Oliver, Nicole (Thomas) Jones; and great grandchildren Oliver and Elsie Jones.

Service will be held at a later date at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Two Harbors.