Mildred Keck Olson was born on October 25, 1920, to Anna (Steen) and Erick Keck in Doyon, North Dakota. She was the eldest of five daughters. They spent summers at the family farm at Keck’s Point on Lake Carlos near Alexandria, where her father and his siblings were born and raised. She graduated from Doyon High School and received her B. S. in Education from Mayville State Teacher’s College, as it was known then. She received her M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado.
Mildred taught English and Social Studies in high schools in North Dakota, Montana, Alaska, and Minnesota. During WWII she worked one summer in a munitions plant in Hastings, Nebraska, and another in Anchorage, Alaska.
In 1951 Mildred met Willard (Bill) Olson at a going away party for some friends in Doyon where he was teaching. They were married on June 15th of 1952. They moved to Graceville, Minnesota where their son Erick was born in 1953, and then to Badger, Minnesota where their daughter Marit was born in 1958.
In 1959 the family moved to Evergreen, Colorado where Mildred taught vocal music at Evergreen Junior High from 1963 until 1983 when she retired. She started playing the piano when she was eight and was the church organist in most of the towns she lived in. In 1963 Mildred and Bill were founding members of Lutheran Church of the Cross in Evergreen and she was the organist and choir director there for 35 years. She continued as part time organist for many years and was still playing the piano at 103.
Bill passed away in 1971, and in 1977 Mildred married Milton Bailey. He had two grown children, Lynn and Milton II (Rock).
Besides her love of music, Mildred also loved to travel, with family, friends, church groups, and school groups. She traveled through almost all of the states in America. Her adventures also took her to Canada, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Bali, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England, Holland, Germany, France, Bratislava, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Israel, Kenya Tanzania, Panama, Costa Rica, and Grand Cayman Island. Mildred and her sister Betty spent part of the winter over several years in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Mildred attributed her long life to her faith, family, friends, music, education, travel, and water, coffee and eggs. She is preceded in death by both husbands, son Rock, parents, in-laws, sisters Lorayne Lillehaugen, Colleen Polka, Mary Ann Thal, all of her aunts and uncles and several nieces and nephews.
She is survived by her son Erick and daughters Marit (Henry) Lodge, Lynn (Douglas) Hill, sister Betty Karaim, grandsons Doug (Stephanie) Hill, Robert (Michaela) Hill, James (Ana) Hill, great grandchildren Kason, Kenzi, Sydney, Owen, and many nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind colleagues and former students who were a great source of happiness and reward as a teacher. In celebration of Mildred’s life, a memorial service was held on September 28, 2024, at Mount Carmel Chapel, Alexandria, MN.