5. Elsie Olson's Funeral

Palmer's Prattle.....Edition #5....April 24, 2010

I was fortunate enough to attend the memorial service for Elsie Olson this past Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead, MN. It was a very nice service that both mourned Elsie's passing and celebrated her very successful life.

To fulfill my responsibility as the "man on street" for our group, this edition of my prattle will provide a quick review of the day. For those who were not in attendance it will provide a full report....for those who did attend it will serve as a recap of the day.

Important Attendees

-Cobbers....Andy, Country Stork, Culla, Jonny (Pat), Dave & Sharon Tranby, Rosey

-First Ballot Hall of Fame Mothers......Mary Atchison, Betty Stadum, Carol Grinnaker, Marcella Gulsvig

-Notables.......Jim Christopherson (legendary Cobber FB coach)

-Elsie's many relatives & friends

Service Highlights.....

-Our buddy Oly spoke on behalf of the family and he did an outstanding job reviewing the highlights of Elsie's life. Oly's story-telling style proved to be very effective because it provided everyone with a window into Elsie's life. Oly built his eulogy around Elsie's three key attributes .... 1) She was always nice to people....2) She always tried to make a connection with people.....3) She had always had courage and faith.

-For those of you who were not there, I can't provide a recap that would properly convey to you exactly what Oly said....as they say, you had to be there. I can say that the stories Oly told about Elsie were very touching, humorous and inspiring.....all at once. Wally and Elsie would have been very proud of their boy on Saturday.

-As Elsie would have said in her special way..."Darrell's talk was sooooooo...(long pause)..........good."

On the lighter side.....

-County Stork gets the "Good Guy" award....helped an unsteady older lady up the church's steps and escorted her to her seat....later helped her get in the lunch line after the service. He's soooo.................nice.

-Overheard after the service....When Oly was speaking from the pulpit he was a combination of Garrison Keillor, Billy Graham, Jimmy Swaggart and Bob Anderson.....Culla said Oly had him totally sucked in....Jonny's heard a few eulogies.....said Oly's was one of the best. (Oly followed the rules of a good sermon...only three major points)

-Oly's talk might have even kept Face from using his pillow.

-Nice crowd...estimated attendance - 250 people....the church ladies had to get more food....only expecting 175.

-Good Lutheran Church lunch....open face sandwiches....salad.....pickles......homemade bars.

-I had two open faced ham sandwiches for lunch....that put me over the top...now into 6 figures (total number of these type of sandwiches consumed in my life)

-Nicest thing said to me during the day....Betty Stadum said..."Thank you for being such a good friend to Kent" (obviously she knows more about the "open shot glass" night than I thought)

-Following the lunch....Country Stork, Jonny, Culla, Rosey and I had a good "session" at Dave's South Side Tap in Moorhead.....some new stories....retelling old stories (now there's a surprise).....Ivy talk.....lots of laughs.

-Lesson learned on Saturday .....live your life in such a way that your family and friends have something interesting to say about you at your funeral......Oly gave me an actual obituary from the Fargo Forum several years ago and it is provided below (I saved it and I carry it in my wallet)

John Omang

The funeral for John Omang, 83, Hatton, ND will be at 2 Monday in the Baker Funeral Home, Mayville, ND. Mr. Omang was born August 11, 1910 in Findley, ND where grew up and attended school. He moved to Hatton to farm and did some grain and gravel trucking. He is survived by a brother, Walter, Portland, ND and sister, Marion Omang, Hatton.

-Now is the time to be out there filling up your future obituary.......hopefully it will be longer than John's.