Sept. 21, 1910 - Jan. 11, 2006
WILLMAR -- Victor Olai Olsen, 95, of St. Paul, formerly of Willmar, died Wednesday in St. Paul.
The service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Vinje Lutheran Church in Willmar. Burial will be at Ft. Snelling in St. Paul at a later date. Memorials are preferred to the Vinje music fund.
He was born Sept 21, 1910, in Alberta to Engel and Gunda (Lund) Olsen. The family moved to Wisconsin, and he graduated from Colfax High School in 1928. He graduated in 1932 from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he majored in math and minored in music and Latin. He taught math and directed the band in Westby, Wis.
He married Dolores Mellem in 1942 in Westby, Wis. He was drafted into Army in 1942 and served in the 95th Infantry and played trombone in the Division Band. He served overseas as a guard and messenger to the War Room and received the Bronze Medal for meritorious service.
ADVERTISEMENT
Following the war, he attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., graduating with a master's degree in music. He was the high school band and orchestra director for 30 years at Willmar Public Schools.
He was a longtime member of Vinje Lutheran Church, the American Band Directors Association and the American Legion.
He is survived by one daughter: Diane McGuire of Houston, Texas; one son: Mark Olsen of Minneapolis; one son-in-law: Wayne Varner of Woodbury; four grandchildren; and one brother: Rolf Olsen of Onamia.
He was preceded in death by his wife in March 2005; daughter, Sharon Varner; one brother and three sisters.
