Sandra Faye Olson

Sandra Faye (Jacobson) Olson, age 78, resident of Audubon, MN, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, ND of cardiac arrest.

Sandra was born on July 31, 1945, in Ada, MN to Beatrice and Walter Jacobson. Soon after, the family moved to Hendrum, MN for several years and then again moved to Audubon, MN when she was a sophomore in high school. She was a very involved student and was crowned homecoming queen in her senior year. She graduated from Audubon High School in 1963. In October of 1965, she married Thomas Olson in Audubon and they remained married until his death in November of 2020.

During the summer after high school, Sandra moved with her 2 girlfriends to Minneapolis where she found work and enjoyed her social life. She was introduced to Tom Olson by a mutual friend, and they began dating. They lived in Minneapolis after their wedding and welcomed their first daughter, Michelle (Missy) Leigh, in November of 1969. In 1971, they made a move to Fergus Falls, MN, where they welcomed their second daughter, Jody Lynn, in December. Together they put in many hours working at their business, Tom Olson Trucking and after many years of living in town, they bought their dream home on Swan Lake and, shortly after, in 1979, they completed their family by adding their third child, Daniel Thomas, to the family. By this time, they no longer owned the trucking company. While Sandra started working a part-time job, Tom had started his career selling trucks for Peterbilt.

In 1981, they made the decision to relocate to Billings, MT for a better job opportunity for Tom with Mack Trucks. While in Billings, Sandra found work as a secretary and a receptionist, but her true love was her craft store, A Crafty Place, that she opened and ran in Billings Heights. After about 8 years, they decided to move further west to California. They lived there long enough to know they didn’t like it and to have their daughters meet their future husbands. In 1992, they moved back to Becker, MN with Dan. Once Dan graduated from high school, they moved to Perham, MN and enjoyed their place on Little Pine Lake full time. They had missed the lake life and loved entertaining friends and family there. Sandra found a small restaurant in Perham where she enjoyed being a server and Tom started his retirement after some health issues.

After a few years, they decided to trade in the work of keeping up the lake place and split their time between Arizona and Minnesota. They found a cozy park model on Forest Hills Golf Course to live in from May to September and they spent the winter months in Buckeye, AZ. Sandra found a great restaurant in Arizona to work at. She loved it and made many friends over the years at both the restaurant as well as the various campgrounds and places where they lived. They looked forward to all their social engagements, golf outings and dinners with friends in both AZ and MN over the years.

Sandra’s other great loves were her grandchildren. Over the years, she enjoyed visiting throughout the year in California, as well as Mississippi, to see all 8 grandkids. Sandra was also blessed to have 2 great-grandchildren these past 2 years. She loved phone calls, FaceTime calls and visits with all her grandkids.

Sandra is survived by her 3 children, Michelle Adams and her husband, Bruce, Jody Price and her husband, Todd, and Dan Olson and his wife, Nora; 8 grandchildren, Jared, Ashlyn and Leah Adams, Nicole and Nate Price, Tyler, KJ, and Harrison Olson; 2 great-grandsons, Georgie Shimboff and Grayson Olson; 4 brothers, Layden Jacobson (Hope), Wayne Jacobson (Sandra), Tom Jacobson (Diane), and Parry Jacobson (Sharon). She is also survived by her 10 nieces and nephews along with their spouses and children, as well as several cousins and many, many friends.

Sandra was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Olson; and her parents, Walter Jacobson (1995) and Beatrice Jacobson (2008).

We will have a memorial service on Friday, July 12, 2024, at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Audubon, MN. Visitation will be at 11:00 AM followed by a Memorial Service at 12:00 PM. Light luncheon to follow.