Lloyd "Whitey" E. Olson

Lloyd “Whitey” Olson, 78, of Mason City, Iowa, died early Saturday morning, April 30, 2016, at the Muse-Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City. Funeral services will be Friday, May 6, at 10:30 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church, 213 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Mason City with Rev. Dan Gerrietts officiating. Visitation will be held from 5:00PM to 7:00 PM on Thursday, May 5, at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Mason City. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service time on Friday at the church. Those who wish to send memorials may direct them to the Lloyd Olson Memorial Fund in care of his family.

Whitey was born August 27, 1937 in Linn Grove, Iowa, son of Kathryne and Gerhardt Olson. He graduated from Linn Grove High School in 1956 as an All-State Football player. He went on to travel the state of Iowa, working as a lineman for an electrical contractor. In his travels, he met Alice Skjeie who was working at her mother’s café in Forest City. Whitey and Alice were married on Feb 4, 1959, and made their home in Forest City, where he worked for the city electrical department. Their marriage resulted in four children. Years later, Whitey found a job as Sales Representative with Crescent Electric Supply Co., and moved his family to Mason City. Whitey excelled in sales at Crescent Electric, and thoroughly enjoyed his work until his retirement after 35 years.

Whitey loved to golf with his wife, friends, and colleagues. He was a long-time regular at the Rockford Country Club, where he achieved a verified hole-in-one. He was a loyal reader of The Des Moines Register every morning from the age of 8, to keep current with Iowa news. He was an avid Hawkeye fan and loved college football and basketball. In his later years, he could be seen riding around town on his red scooter, chatting up old friends and strangers alike. Whitey was a one-of-a-kind storyteller, and was always entertaining people with his anecdotes. After retirement, Whitey and Alice enjoyed their winters in Florida with their family, and spent summers in Mason City.

Whitey is survived by his wife, Alice, and his three daughters, Kim Olson, Cheryl (Brian) Hansen, and Debbie (Mitch) Hegland; grandsons Eric and Isaac Hansen; grandaughters Danielle (Jacob) Fisher, Daisy and Darby Hegland; great-grandaughter Beatrix Fisher.
He is also survived by 7 of his 12 siblings: Richard (Linda) Olson, LuAnn (Nyle) Burns, Vivian (Damien) Foxhoven, Robert (Jan) Olson, Linda Rydstrom, Reatha (Roger) Harrington, and Ruth (John) Thompson.

Whitey is preceded in death by his parents, Kathryne and Gerhardt Olson, his son Douglas Olson, his brother Arnold Olson, his sisters Elaine Jessen, Miriam Wiebe, Janet Campbell, and his brother-in-law Joe Rydstrom.