Pat Olsen

It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Pat Olsen, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend on April 28, 2024 at the age of 85.

Pat had a generous and loving spirit, and was fiercely loyal to both family and friends. Pat gave freely of her time and talents, and always had kind words and a shoulder to lean on when we needed it the most.

Pat was proudly independent, and worked most of her life in a variety of positions, beginning at a soda fountain at 13 years old and retiring from an executive assistant position at United Healthcare at 65.  She was a wonderful role model for her daughter and granddaughters, lighting the way to show them how to be strong, self-sufficient women. Pat championed women throughout her life, making a point to hire women professionals for any service that she needed.

Pat took several years off from working to raise her two children, Brenda and Mike. For her, parenting was a full-contact sport that she embraced whole-heartedly. She encouraged curiosity and knowledge, making sure we had the tools we needed to learn about the world around us. That included a lot of books, whether encyclopedias or Time Life book collections, or countless trips to the library. She
involved us in Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, and was a co-leader of Brenda’s Girl Scout troop. Mom was our biggest cheerleader in everything we did, whether it was academics, sports, music, leisure interests, or dreams that we had. Mom taught us compassion and service by reaching out to help anyone she saw in need. When we were young, Mom brought us to visit elderly neighbors that lived alone, and more
than a few times, helped a next-door neighbor escape to a safe location when domestic abuse was imminent. When her mother moved back to Minnesota after her father passed, Mom took Grandma into her home to stay with her.

Mom enjoyed knitting, crocheting, embroidering, and was a talented seamstress. She enthusiastically tried any new craft that came along, and shared her skills with us, teaching us anything we wanted to learn to do. Mom loved to read, spending many an hour immersed in spy and legal thrillers, mysteries, and historical romance novels. Her love of mysteries and thrillers extended to her favorite FBI and detective shows on television, and to the big screen, seeing every James Bond movie at least once, and then many times over on TV. Mom often made buttery popcorn for every viewing occasion, whether it was watching Tarzan or other adventure movies on TV with us and the neighborhood kids, watching her favorite TV detective shows, or bringing it to the drive-in theater to watch the latest Disney movies with our family. Mom also greatly enjoyed going to plays and musicals with friends and family, and had season tickets to Artistry Theater in Bloomington for many years. And, oh could she sing!!! Mom had a beautiful soprano singing voice that she shared with the neighborhood when we were kids. She sang while she did the dishes, and with the windows open most of the time (living in Monterey Park, California), you could hear her most of the way down the block. One of the neighborhood boys said one of his favorite things was to hear our mom sing. She brought that wonderful voice back to Minnesota and was a member of the choir at House of Prayer Lutheran Church for several years where she made many friends.

Traveling to explore new places with family and friends, whether by station wagon, bus, jet, or cruise ship was also a passion of Mom’s. We went on many family camping trips, including to Yellowstone National Park, and went to Yosemite National Park. She enjoyed her vacations at North Long Lake in Brainerd, and especially looked forward to her annual trip to Las Vegas with her sister and sister’s
family. Rumor has it she had many an escapade in Vegas, but we all know those stories stay there!

Mom was thrilled to become a grandmother and relished the role. She babysat the grandkids as often as she could, providing an invaluable service to her kids and grandkids alike. Picking up the kids was like walking into a crazy play land with Hot Wheels tracks crisscrossing one end of the living room to the other, toys, games and play jewelry strewn everywhere, and exhausted, happy kids snuggled all around her on the couch. The annual highlight for the grandkids was staying over at Grandma’s Thanksgiving night and helping her decorate her home for Christmas the very next day. These are memories our kids will cherish forever.

Mom’s constant companion at home was her beloved cat Clare, whom she thoroughly spoiled, along with the other pets in the family. Every pet knew exactly where to position themselves during family meals, as she could be counted on to sneak them many tidbits under the table while she thought no one was looking.

One of Pat’s greatest joys was her family who will miss her dearly. She is preceded in death by her parents, Donald and Virginia (Larson) Paquette. Survived by loving children, Brenda (Tom) Kroeten and Mike (Adrian) Olsen; grandchildren: Alyssa Kroeten (John Zelenka), Travis Kroeten, Kaleb Olsen, Autumn Olsen and Tanner Olsen (Emrys Yang); sister, Nancy (Charles) Bungert; and many other relatives and friends.

A celebration of life will be held on Thursday May 9th, 11 AM, at Christus Victor Lutheran Church, 7510 Palomino Drive, Apple Valley with visitation one hour prior to service.  Lunch will follow.  Interment, St. Mary’s Cemetery, Mpls.  Memorials may be made to Bridging MN which is an organization that was important to her.