Mary-Ida (Hanson) Olson

Mary-Ida (Hanson) Olson, 91, passed away on August 7, 2019.  She was born on November 12, 1927, in Middletown, CT, to Gustav Brynolf Hanson and Winifred Lucile (Benson) Hanson.  She grew up in Connecticut and New Jersey.  She graduated from Crosby High School in Waterbury and spent some of the happiest years of her life at LaSalle College in Newton, Massachusetts, graduating with an associate degree.  After returning home to Cheshire, CT to nurse her mother through her final illness, she met and married the love of her life, Ernest Alfred Olson, on St. Patrick’s Day, 1950.  They started married life in “The Palace”, a one room cold water shack.  They eventually settled in Coventry, CT where they enjoyed spending time with their family at the lake, just a short walk from their home, and at their cabin in Vermont.  Mary-Ida worked as an aide at Mansfield Training School and enjoyed the relationships she developed with her clients.  After her retirement she travelled extensively, visiting the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Florida, Hawaii, Alaska, Jordan, Israel, Peru, Chile, the Galapagos Islands, Antarctica and Iceland, and crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary.  For many years she was the Secretary of District 1199 CSEA Retirees union, and played cards every week at the Coventry Senior Center.  She is survived by her son, Matthew, daughter Linda Stachelek and her husband Richard, grandsons Erik Olson and his wife Jen, Adam Stachelek and his wife Janine, Ryan Stachelek and Keith Stachelek, and great granddaughters Arwyn Stachelek and Gemma Stachelek.  She was pre-deceased by her husband, her parents, her brother Vant B. Hanson and her aunt, May Benson. The family would like to sincerely thank the staff and residents of One MacDonough Place in Middletown for their care and friendship after Mary-Ida could no longer live alone in her home in Coventry.  Friends are invited to visit with the family on August 20, 2019 at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson St. (Rt. 195), in Willimantic, CT beginning at 10:00 am, followed by a memorial service at 11:00 am, and interment at the New Coventry Cemetery.  Memorial donations may be made to Smile Train, PO Box 96231, Washington, D.C. 20090-6231, which Mary-Ida supported for decades.

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