Michael Olson

Michael Dean Olson, 62, better known as "Mike" or "MO" of White Bear Township, MN, died July 20, 2022, after a 4-year battle with Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Mike was a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend. As a child, he was a curious tinkerer, pulling apart clocks, lawn mowers, and other appliances around the house to understand their construction. Later he turned to motorcycles, cars, and structures. His love for learning and problem solving led him to his career at Belair Excavating, where he proudly worked for 35 years doing construction, demolition, and environmental cleanup.

On the weekends, Mike could be found in his garage making something, at a friend's house fixing something, or at a family member's house building something. He was a jack of all trades and loved helping someone with a project. Mike also loved to fish, hunt, trap shoot, and spend quality time up north with his friends and brothers. Recently, you could find him fussing over the smoker he built to make something delicious for the family.

He is sorely missed and survived by his wife, Jean; children, Tabitha and Amanda (Nick); furry companion, Libby; mother, Joan; brothers, Rodney (Linda), Todd (Cris), Rick (Kelly) and Ronald (Connie); Aunt Jan; and mother-in-law, Patricia. He was preceded in death by his father, Willard "Bill"; father-in-law, John; uncle Ridgley "Big Ridge"; cousin Ridgely "Little Ridge"; and furry companions Penny, Dixie, Rueben, and Lovey.

Special thanks to the fantastic care teams at MN Health Fairview - St. John's (ER, P2, and Cancer Care), and at the BMT and Masonic Cancer Center U of M East Bank Clinic and Hospital. The doctors, nurses and care teams not only took excellent care of Mike, but the kindness, friendship and professionalism was above and beyond the call of duty!

A celebration of life will be held on August 11, 2022 at Kellerman Event Center from 4:00 to 8:00pm. All who knew Mike are welcome to attend. If you are wondering how you can help, one of Mike's last requests was to ask people to please consider donating blood and platelets. He wouldn't have survived as long as he did without them.