Carol (Olson) Maier

Carol (Olson) Maier died peacefully in her sleep, April 9, 2010 in Bismarck, North Dakota. She was born Verna Carol Fraase on October 3, 1924 in Buffalo, ND, and spent her childhood at the family farm there. She was the third child of Walter and Emma Fraase. Her father nicknamed her “Sweetie.” She graduated from Buffalo High School and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics from the University of Minnesota. While at the university, she fell in love with LeRoy Olson, an engineering student. They married in 1946 and moved to Brunswick, Maine, where LeRoy completed his service in the U.S. Navy. The Boeing Aircraft Company hired LeRoy as an aeronautical engineer, and the couple moved to the state of Washington. They built a waterfront home on Mercer Island and raised five children there. In 1978, LeRoy died in a mountain climbing accident. Carol was widowed for eight years when she received a phone call from Al Maier of Ashley, ND. Al was also widowed. Al and Carol had been teenage sweethearts many years ago at Bible camp. After a long distance courtship of several months, Al and Carol married on August 2, 1986. They made their first home in Ashley and then moved to Bismarck in 1994.Carol is survived by her loving husband, Al; five children, Nancy (Ron) Vignec of Tacoma, WA, Mary (Roy) Nott of Aberdeen, WA, Mark (Hilary) Olson of Redmond, WA, Loree (Mike) Burley of Honolulu, HI, and Amy (Chris) Breuninger of Sammamish, WA; two stepchildren, Steve Maier of Jamestown, ND and Carol (Ken) Schauer of Littleton, CO; eight grandchildren and four step-grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at Pine Lake Covenant Church, Sammamish, WA at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 24. Gifts in her memory may be given to the Alzheimers Association.