Harris W. Olson

​Harris W. Olson, 90, of Drayton, ND passed away Wednesday June 19, 2019 at Lutheran Sunset Home in Grafton, ND. 
Harris was born May 14, 1929 in Robbin, MN to Willard and Mabel (Brew) Olson.  He was baptized and confirmed at the Drayton Lutheran Church. Harris attended school in St. Thomas and Drayton, ND.  Early in life Harris worked on his uncle’s farm.  In 1945 he started working for Northern Pacific Railroad.  He enlisted in the Army in 1948. In 1950 he was deployed to Korea, but rarely spoke of his service.  Something that stood out to his family was that he landed in Korea with 150 men in his company and he was 1 of 13 that returned home.  He received many accolades including the Korean Service Medal with 3 Bronze Stars.  After four years he was Honorably Discharged from the Army.  He returned to Drayton and married Anna Margaret Stensland.  He continued working with Northern Pacific/Burlington Northern Railroad. In 1990 he received the Presidential Award, the highest honor given to a Burlington Northern employee.  He retired shortly after that.  In 1973 he married Lorraine (Mattson) Thompson.  Harris and Lorraine shared a love of dancing, fishing, canning, making lefse, watching and listening to University of North Dakota Hockey and Minnesota Twins Baseball.  Harris had a very soft heart for animals and was living his best life with a dog in his lap.  Rocky Point at Lake of the Woods is where they would spend their summers and it held a special place in their hearts.  But nothing meant more to Harris then spending time with his family and  friends.
Harris is survived by his children - Nancy (Todd) Woinarowicz, Drayton, ND; Chris (Marcia) Olson, Grafton, ND; Richard (Susan) Thompson,  Mascoutah, IL; Robert (Joanne) Thompson, Morris, MN; Shelly (Mike) Stewart, Baudette, MN; Renae (Ron) Tveit, Warroad, MN.  Grandchildren-Dylan Woinarowicz, Melissa (Kevin Hopke) Blanchard, Cory (Melissa Agnew) Blanchard, Claire Olson, Kim (Michael) Magathan, Kara (Jonathan) Loden, Kelly (Thomas) Beasley, Kristen (Craig) Meng, Allison (Dan) Lenmark, Angela (Kyle) Vershey, Alissa (Barnaby) Allen, Justin (Sara) Tveit,  Whitney (Grant) Rasmussen, along with  twenty-one Great Grandchildren.  Harris was preceded in death by his wife Lorraine (May 24, 2019),  daughter Becky, great granddaughter Sophia Lenmark, parents Willard and Mabel Olson and two infant daughters.
Funeral services will be Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 11:00 AM at the Drayton Lutheran Church, Drayton, ND.  Visitation will be Thursday for one hour prior to the service at the church.  Interment will be at the Drayton City Cemetery.  Military Rites will be provided by the North Dakota National Guard.