Frances Olson

Frances A. Olson, 94, formerly of Cedar Point, died Jan. 29, 2009, at Presbyterian Manor in Lawrence.

Born May 18, 1914, in Fairview Township in Butler County, she was the daughter of Willard Virgil and Clara (Knox) Harshman.

She married Webster Gilbert Olson Nov. 29, 1938, at her parents’ home in Chase County. He died April 7, 1985, at Emporia.

They lived near El Dorado until 1941 when they moved to a farm near Clements where she lived until 1998.

She taught fifth grade at Burns Elementary School for 10 years, retiring in 1978. She was elected in 1986 and re-elected in 1990 to the Chase County Commission, serving as the first woman on the commission.

On Dec. 24, 1999, she married Gerald “Jerry” Park in Emporia. He preceded her in death in January 2007. A brother, Frank Harshman, also preceded her.

Survivors include three sons, Willard Olson of Paradise Valley, Ariz., Willis Olson of Eudora, and R. Douglas Olson of Westmoreland; a daughter, Karen Shumate of Lawrence; 11 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life service was Monday morning at Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home in Cottonwood Falls with Bennie Holtsclaw officiating.

Burial followed at Prairie Grove Cemetery, Cottonwood Falls.

A memorial fund has been established with the Chase County Courthouse fund and may be sent in care of the funeral home, 201 Cherry, Cottonwood Falls KS 66845.