Olive Samdal, 100

Blue Earth Olive Samdal, age 100, of Blue Earth, formerly of Frost, died Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Care Center in Blue Earth.

Funeral Services will be held Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at the Bricelyn Lutheran Church in Bricelyn. Visitation was Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, from 2-4 p.m. at?Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Bricelyn, and one hour prior to the service at the church. Pastor Nancy Dreier will officiate and interment will be in the Bricelyn Lutheran Cemetery, Seely Township, Faribault County. Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Bricelyn is in charge of the arrangements.

Olive was born Nov. 25, 1912, the daughter of Gunnar and Olive (Olson) Larson, in Newark, Ill. Her mother died Dec. 14, 1912. She was baptized by her mother’s bed and given her mother’s name. She and her brother Leslie were raised by their grandparents. At age 3, they moved to Frost. She was confirmed in Rake, Iowa, in 1926. She attended country school for eight years. She helped her grandparents on the farm until 1936, at which time the farm was sold.?Olive worked in the field using horses and helped milk the cows by hand. On June 13, 1937, Olive married Hans Samdal, in Rake, and had one son, Roger. In the early 1940s, they moved to Bricelyn and worked on several farms before moving into Bricelyn. She worked at Gestie’s Caf and Wolf’s store for several years. In 1951, the family moved to a farm near Frost. Around 1959, they bought the Frost Produce and ran it until Hans died. Olive worked at the Blue Earth Hospital and St. Luke’s until retiring when she was seventy. Even after retirement, she would on occasion assist with the care of people needing short term care this gave her a tremendous amount of joy. She would later move into New Life Manor and would continue to do volunteer work until her last days. She was the historian for St. Luke’s Auxiliary for the past 16 years until her death.

Olive is survived by her son, Roger (Wanda) Samdal, of Windom; four grandchildren, Terry (Lisa Nye) Samdal, of North Las Vegas, Nev., Bradley (Karin), of Windom, Vicki (Brian) Tait, of Klamath Falls, Ore., and Julie (Michael) Newkirk, of Sioux Falls,?S.D.; nine great-grandchildren, Lexy (Jordan) VanWesten, Lacey, Jacob, Emily, Joshua, and Matthew Samdal, Maura and Holly Tait, and Javon Newkirk.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Hans; and brother, Leslie.

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