Lorne L. Olson

Lorne Olson, 67 of Wannaska, MN passed away on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. A visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at Helgeson Funeral Home in Roseau from 5-7 pm Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 19, 2024 at Helgeson Funeral Home in Roseau at 12 p.m. with visitation one hour prior.

  Lorne Lee Olson passed away on December 10th, 2024, at the age of 67 years and 3 months in Roseau, surrounded by his loving family. Lorne was born on August 20th, 1957, in Roseau, MN. He attended school through the 8th grade at Grygla School. He logged locally for a while before going to work at Marvin Windows with his mom, where he pulled many pranks on his fellow co-workers.

At a young age, Lorne taught himself to play music by ear. He had a passion for music, always singing and playing somewhere. Lorne also worked for Kaml Log Homes, sawing lumber and building log homes locally and abroad. He and his brothers, Brad and Danny, built the family log home in Skime in 1976-77. Lorne and Brad also spent time logging near Grand Marais, MN, with the Korpi family. In 1982, Lorne, Brad, and a few others went to Winter Park, Colorado, to build a huge log home with an attached two-stall garage. They were all glad to get back home.

Lorne then worked logging diseased Dutch elm trees on the Red River near Hallock, MN, where he got into catfishing with family, which turned into a yearly event. Lorne then went out to Missouri where another log home was built. He also worked for Fin Mack, driving trucks and hauling pulp across the ice on the lake. Lorne then went to work at Polaris and raised cattle while working until he had to quit due to health conditions. He always had his mind on the next project.

Lorne met the love of his life, Sheila Byklum, at the Malung Hall (where he was playing) in 1988. They married in South Dakota on August 18, 1989. Lorne and Sheila just celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary this year. Throughout his life, Lorne played and sang with several bands. He would work a full-time job, go home, shower, grab his instruments, and be on his way down the road to the next gig, get home late, unload, maybe sleep, and off to work again in the morning.

Lorne grew up hunting, fishing, and being outdoors. Boy, did he have stories of the things he and his brothers would do! He loved telling everyone all the things he had done throughout his life. He and his brothers and a couple of friends were always up to something (mostly no good), but they enjoyed themselves. Lorne also enjoyed playing any type of card game with family, and dominoes with the neighbors, and liked to do things for friends and neighbors even if they didn’t ask or were not ready. He was always waiting for a brother, sister, niece, nephew, or neighbor to stop by to do things for him that Sheila couldn’t or wouldn’t have time to do, or occasionally (mostly) try to talk him out of doing.

No one was excluded from his contact list. He loved pulling pranks on people. It didn’t matter who you were, you probably had one pulled on you. Even through all of Lorne’s health issues throughout the years, he would never quit or give up; he would just find another way. He was great at cracking jokes and making fun of whatever happened. Even when he had complications from his kidney transplant, eventually having both legs amputated below the knees, breaking his back, and spending over a month in rehab to be able to walk, he would make jokes about it and laugh to make it easier for everyone else to deal with what he was going through. One of Lorne’s sayings was, “There’s a right way, a wrong way, and Lorne’s way, and it’s always Lorne’s way.” Lorne taught siblings, nephews, nieces, great-nieces, nephews, and anyone willing to learn how to play guitar, hunt, fish, and most anything he could, all the while thoroughly enjoying watching them do the things he had taught them. Lorne had the mouth of a sailor but a heart of gold.  

He will be sadly missed, but forever loved!!

Lorne is survived by his wife, Sheila (Byklum) Olson; mother-in-law, Nancy Byklum; brothers, Danny Olson and Brian Olson; sisters, Nadine Olson and Lori Olson; sisters-in-law, Deanna Nordby, Karla Byklum, Debbie Olson, and Marci Olson; nephews, Matt Stotts, Ryan (Jessica) Stotts, Steven (Samantha) Olson, Merlin Goodwin, Bill Goodwin, Luther (Mikaela) Goodwin, Cody Olson, and Braeden Nordby; nieces, Donna (Rocky) Olson, Kimberly (Matt) Ford, and Kasey (Jacob) Nordby; great-nieces and nephews, Jerzey (Wyatt) Loewe, Ava Stotts, Carsyn Stotts, Xander Stotts, Lilah Stotts, Bristol Olson, Derek Olson, Allie Ford, Connor Ford, Deakon Goodwin, and Delena Goodwin; and many cousins and special friends.

Lorne was preceded in death by his mother, Leona Otto; father-in-law, Ronald "Ronnie/RB" Byklum; grandparents, William and Gladyce Osse, Odin Olson, Kindred and Ida Lundeen, John and Myrtle Byklum, and Alvin and Terry Blaine; brother, Bradley Olson; nephews, Derek Olson and Skyler Nordby; several aunts, uncles, cousins, and good friends.

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