Wendell Julius Olson

The third and last child of Nels Olson and Lisa (Elsi) Maja Larson Olson, Wendell Olson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 21 July, 1918. His parents had immigrated separately from Sweden and met in the large Swedish community in Minneapolis. Their circumstances were straitened but his father built a small home for his family there when Wendell was a preschooler. As a family, they celebrated the traditions of Sweden but were resolute in their desire to be Americans. This they shared with their many relatives who also lived in Minneapolis.

Wendell attended school in Minneapolis and was given a scholarship to the Minneapolis Business College. After his graduation, he followed his brother Harold to California I the late 1930s, working as an accountant in various businesses. When WWII broke out, Wendell reported to the military base at Santa Maria, California and was recruited immediately into the Army Air Corps as a payroll clerk; his skills were so evident that he never even had to do basic training. He was posted as the chief Financial officer to Merced Air Field (later Castle Air Force Base) and never left the community. He was discharged from the military in 1946 and joined the Brammer accounting firm, for which he had been working on a part-time basis. Later he became a CPA and continued his successful career with the Brammer firm, which later became Brammer, Olson, and Olson. He was associated with the firm for nearly 50 years.

He married Mary Brandmire of North Dakota in 1940. They had one child, Wendy Leone, in 1949. Following Mary’s death and the death of Helen Brammer’s husband, Wendell and Helen were married from 1961. He always joked that he “married his boss.” They remained married until her passing in 2001.

Wendell and Nancy Harvey were married in 2007 and enjoyed nine wonderful years together. They filled the years with family, friends, travel, and service to their church and community.

Wendell often said, “I always try to give back what’s been given to me by the community.” This was evidenced by his great contribution of expertise, time, and fine disposition as a member of the Stanislaus State University Advisory Board, the Merced City School Board, the Foundation of Merced College, the Merced Theatre Foundation, Merced Golf and Country Club, Playhouse Merced, the Historical Society of Merced County, Rotary Club, St. Luke’s Church, St. Luke’s School, and the Retired Air Force Financial Officers; Association, and was a director of County Bank. Wendell was a communicant of St. Luke’s Anglican Church.

Wendell died November 30, 2016. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Harold and sister Margaret, his first wife Mary, his second wife Helen, and his daughter Wendy. He is survived by his wife Nancy, her children, his nieces and nephews, and the families of Don and Joan Brammer and Larry and Eileen Brammer.

Services will be held at St. Luke’s Anglican Church at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, December 14, 2016. Reception will follow the service immediately at the church. Burial with military honors will be at the San Joaquin National Cemetery.

Arrangements under the direction of Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home, Merced, CA.