Celebrating Women’s History Month!

Audrey Olson

Shorewood Senior Campus

When she reflects on her life, it’s clear that Audrey Olson’s focus is family. In the same conversation, she discusses both her ancestors and her grandchildren. And Audrey is right in the middle of those many generations.

She’s proud to share that her grandparents were from Norway. Each grandmother had 9 children. Her parents were number 5 in each line of siblings. Audrey herself was born in the Depression in North Dakota. She’s the oldest of five.

Her life was filled with different pursuits. “I’m interested in a whole lot of things. And I have a real big imagination.”

Audrey had three children in five years, and when they were older, she went to school and attained her bachelor’s degree at age 45. She focused on chemical dependency and child development and later worked as a counselor for teens who had alcohol and drug dependency.

“I think I’m a teen at heart,” she says. “I was in my 30s and 40s when I was in college and interacting with kids.”

She knows she made a difference to the teens she worked with. “I have a sense of humor. I liked the kids and they knew it. They felt like I was on their side – not the school’s side and not their parents’ side.”

In retirement, Audrey and her husband lived in Cypress Cove in Fort Myers, Florida. She dove in to theater. In a favorite role, “I played a fortune teller.” It was Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward. And it was a “readers theater,” where the actors had the script in hand and didn’t move around much. “But I could do lots of drama with a fortune teller” character, she muses.

Audrey cared for her husband when he had dementia. After he died, she stayed in Florida for another 8 years before moving to Shorewood in Rochester, Minn., to be closer to her children.

She loves to read and stays curious. “I don’t get bored. I can visit with just about anybody. I’m a political junkie – I watch lots of politics on the news.”

She’s proud to share that six generations of her family have politicians – two superintendents, two state senators, a lieutenant governor, and her dad was the mayor in her home town.

Her biggest accomplishment? Raising three kids. “Two are doctors,” she says.

But for herself, a lifelong skill: “I made my own clothes for 50 years. I wasn’t that tall and couldn’t find anything to fit. I got my mother’s sewing machine. When I was sewing, I didn’t have to do chores or dishes!”

She made a coat from scratch 30 years ago, and she still wears it today.

And one penchant for shopping: “I justify buying jewelry to give to my granddaughters,” she says. “I have lots of jewelry and not enough granddaughters!”