Stan was the eldest son of Jonas and Dorothy Olafson. He was born and grew up on the farm north of Windthorst, Saskatchewan that had been homesteaded in 1902 by his grandparents. As most did during those times, he attended a one-room country school in the Hillesden District, working on the farm when not studying.
He enlisted in the Canadian Army at the age of 21 and was assigned to the Royal Canadian Engineers of the Canadian Third Division. Following training in Prince Albert, SK and Chilliwack, BC, he was deployed overseas in 1943. He was with the second group of Canadian soldiers that landed at Normandy on June 7, 1944, following the D-Day landings. Stan returned to Saskatchewan near the end of 1945 and farmed with his father and brother Bill. He loved farming, his community, and sports. He excelled as a baseball player, curler and, of course, pool at the seniors’ centre.
Family was important to him and he was the family historian. He took a tremendous amount of pleasure from interactions with nephews, nieces, cousins and their extended families. Stan was blessed with a long and healthy life, and he was sharp to the end.
When he was 98, his driver’s license was renewed for five more years – something he took great delight in.
Stan was a proud veteran and participated in countless remembrance services in Windthorst and Kipling. He was looking forward to turning 100 as a WWII Veteran on Remembrance Day 2020.
Stan was predeceased by his parents, his brother Bill, sisters-in-law Dorothy Olafson, Lydia Olafson, and nephew-in-law Gregg Schraw. He is survived by his brothers Glenn in Port Coquitlam, BC and Don in Calgary, Alberta; nieces and nephews Diane Heidel, Wendy Hugill (Doug), David Olafson (Caroline) all in the Vancouver area, Kelly Olafson (Barb) in Singapore, Lori Olafson in Las Vegas, and Tim Olafson (Julie Hopkins) in Calgary. In addition, Stan will be missed by several great nieces and nephews, numerous cousins and his friends in the Windthorst area.
The family extends thanks to the nurses and staff at both the Kipling Integrated Health Centre and unit 5A Regina General Hospital for their compassionate care of Stan during his final days, and to all the kind people of Windthorst who kept an eye out for Stan over the years.
A graveside service will be held in the Windthorst Cemetery, Windthorst, SK on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. with Pastor Stewart Miller officiating. Light refreshments will immediately follow in the Windthorst Community Rec. Centre.
If friends desire, donations in Stan’s memory may be made to the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 6 Kipling Box 837, Kipling, SK S0G 2S0, Windthorst Museum c/o Windthorst Village Office Box 98 Windthorst, SK S0G 5G0, or Kipling Palliative Care Box 989 Kipling, SK, S0G 2S0.
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