Obituary of Helen Olander

Helen Olander of Cambridge passed away July 10, 2014 at GracePointe West at the age of 90. Helen Margaret Wyman was born on April 27, 1924 at Kansas City, Missouri to Gyle and Elvera Wyman. She went to school and church at Grasston, Minnesota while residing with her mother and grandmother. At the age of 15 she made a decision to accept and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior and was baptized. She met Curtis at the Young Peoples Christian meetings. In 1942 she graduated high school and worked briefly until marrying Curtis L. Olander on October 30, 1943 at Grasston Baptist Church. Primarily, she was a full time mother of four children born within 5 years. They always came home from school to freshly baked cookies and cake. Helen loved to cook and bake and usually the family had her freshly baked caramel rolls for Sunday breakfast. Coming home from church they often had roast beef with potatoes and carrots. Her other hobbies were sewing and other hand crafts such as knitting and embroidery. For 17 years Helen taught Sunday school to the four and five year olds at First Baptist. She had been a member there since moving to Cambridge in 1951. When the children were older she began working at the Cambridge Dairy office. Then she went to the high school and cooked for 21 years. She loved to have family over for big meals and often took the grandchildren overnight and camping with her and grandpa. Helen had suffered from chronic pain due to multiple back surgeries. She still remained as independent as possible. Even living in senior housing she had been very friendly and tried to get acquainted with residents and staff. Helen is preceded in death by her parents, husband Curtis, sons Steven and Richard, and granddaughter Michelle Olander She is survived by daughters Judy (Jon) Nelson of Amery; son john (Shirley) Olander of Forest Lake; daughter-in-law Carol Olander of Cambridge; sister Marjorie Bjorklund of Mora, and sister-in-law Lillian Olander of St. Paul. Her nine grandchildren include Daniel (Jennifer), Douglas, Bradley, and Brent Sjerven, Shellee (Mitchell) Lamb, Jennifer (Jacob) Menks, Brett Olander, Kristen (David) Strigel, and Scott (Amy) Olander. Great grandchildren include Cyanna, Peter, and Sebastian Sjerven, Alexis and Mason Lamb, and Kylie Olander. A special thank you to Dr. Allan Mork for being so patient, kind, and caring to Helen for so many years.