Sarah Louise Olson

Sarah L. Olson, age 43, of Garfield, died surrounded by family and friends, on Friday, October 25, 2024, at Knute Nelson Hospice in Alexandria.

 A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, November 8, 2024, at Alexandria Covenant Church in Alexandria with Rev. Dave Mergens presiding. Private family interment will take place at Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls.

The visitation will be 4-7 p.m., Thursday, November 7th, at Lind Family Funeral Home in Alexandria and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Sarah Louise was born on August 14, 1981, to Brian and Bernice (Paddock) Berg in Alexandria. She was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church. Sarah graduated from Jefferson High School in 2000 and received her associate degree from Alexandria Technical College. She assisted with her family business, Berg’s Resort on Lake L’Homme Dieu for many years. Following her education, she interned and worked at Community Nursery School at First Lutheran Church. She moved to the Twin Cities where she worked as a preschool teacher at Medtronic. Sarah was united in marriage to Shane A. Olson on August 25, 2006, at First Lutheran Church in Alexandria. Following their marriage, they moved to Little Falls where she was a preschool teacher at Grace Covenant Church for multiple years. She was blessed with two children, Briana and Gavin. Sarah continued her education and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. She and her family returned to Alexandria in 2015, and she worked at the preschool program at Calvary Lutheran Church. Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, which prevented her continued work at Calvary. She was most recently working as an early childhood initiative coordinator for Douglas County.

 Sarah was a member of Alexandria Covenant Church, where she was active in its women’s group and taught Sunday School. She was a lifetime member of Girls Scouts and earned the Girl Scout Gold Award in 2000. She was a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, NAEYC, and a former member of MOPS. Sarah enjoyed scrapbooking, camping, crafting, traveling, biking, and swimming in her free time. She had a positive influence on anyone she met and loved a good cup of coffee.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, and father-in-law, David L. Olson.

Sarah is survived by her husband of 18 years, Shane; daughter, Briana; son, Gavin all of Garfield; parents, Brian Orrin and Bernice Jean Berg of Alexandria; brother, Aaron Christopher (Rachel) Berg of Richfield; mother-in-law, Patti Olson of Kensington; sister-in-law, Stacey Baker of Lowry; grandmother-in-law, Audrey Olson of Alexandria; step-grandmother, Carol Crisp of Wisconsin; and a host of friends.

Urn bearers are Bertina Kupcho, Katie Larson, Michael Houser and Jennefer James.

 In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to Little Pink Houses of Hope, https://www.littlepink.org/donors/giveonline.