Leonard Olson

Leonard L. Olson
1925–2019
Leonard Lawrence Olson passed away on Sunday, June 23, in Stillwater, MN, at the age of 93. He was born Aug 31, 1925, in Lime Springs, IA, the son of Casper and Lucille Olson. As a boy he lived on several farms in the Minnesota/Iowa border area.

At the age of 18 Len joined the Navy and served aboard the destroyer USS Reid. In 1944 the Reid fought in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines and was struck and sunk by Japanese kamikaze planes with the loss of 103 of Len’s shipmates. After his discharge from the Navy, Len served a six-year printer apprenticeship with W. A. Wright Co. in Philadelphia.

Len married June H. Casterton of Highlandville, Iowa, on Jan. 26, 1946. The couple had two daughters. In 1953 the family moved to Brooklyn Center, MN, and Len began working at the St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press.

In 1978 the couple moved to a condominium on the St. Croix River. Len was an avid fisherman and boater, and he and June enjoyed many hours on the water. They enjoyed traveling in their RV and visited almost all the states of the union. Len retired in 1987 after working 33 years at the newspaper in St. Paul.

Len was preceded in death by his wife of 69 years, June, and his brothers Robert and Ronald. He is survived by his daughters Carol (David) and Lois, four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and 25 nieces and nephews.