Cover photo for Richard "Dick" Olek's Obituary
Richard "Dick" Olek Profile Photo
1910 Richard 2010

Richard "Dick" Olek

October 25, 1910 — November 6, 2010

Richard "Dick" Harold Olek was born October 25, 1910, in Forbes, ND, to Julius and Amileye "Molly" (Schultz) Olek. Dick attended school through the third grade and then left his home in North Dakota, at ten years of age, with two of his brothers.

They worked various jobs on area farms from North Dakota to Indiana. He then rode the trains to the east coast. While traveling from New York to Miami, Dick once worked with Barnum and Bailey Circus.

In 1942, Dick returned to Minnesota where his brothers, Oscar and Carl, were farming in the Red River Valley, and he began to farm his own quarter section. Dick married Emma Merkel in 1944, and they lived and farmed in the Felton, MN, area. They had seven children.
Dick was a dairy farmer, a hog farmer, and a small grain farmer. He also built and maintained many of the wooden bridges in Morken Township. Dick was employed with American Crystal, Delco Remy, and West Fargo (ND) Packing House. He loved to fish and brag about the size of his catch, and enjoyed being silly with his grandchildren.
Dick was a member of the Felton Rod and Gun Club, the Lions Club, and was a long-time member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Felton.
Dick died Saturday, November 6, 2010, at Viking Manor, Ulen, MN, at one hundred years of age.
Dick is survived by his wife, Emma, of sixty-six years; two daughters, Darlene Olek, Fergus Falls, MN, and Shirley (Rick) Johnson, Breezy Point, MN; three sons, Richard (Belinda) Olek, Fargo, ND, David (Suzanne) Olek, Glyndon, MN, and Mark (Lori) Olek, Blaine, MN; fourteen grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and ten stepgreat-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, Dick was preceded in death by six brothers; one sister; a daughter, Barbara Jane Stone; a son, Allen Roy Olek; and an infant grandson.
Visitation for Dick will be Wednesday, November 10, 2010, from 11 AM to 2 PM, in Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Felton.
There will be a public/family prayer service Wednesday at 11 AM, at Gloria Dei.
The funeral will be Wednesday at 2 PM, in Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Moorhead.



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