Barbara A. Olien, age 75 of Mott, ND, passed away on Thursday, February 16, 2017 at the Good Samaritan Society Nursing Home in Mott.

Funeral Services will be at 11:00 am MT on Monday, February 20, 2017 at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Mott with Pastor John Amundson officiating. Burial will be on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 11:00 am CT at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, south of Mandan, ND.

Visitation will be on Sunday from 1 – 4 pm at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Mott.

BARBARA ANNE THOMPSON was born on March 31, 1941 to Randal & Polly (Burhans) Thompson in Beach, ND. She was the oldest of 3 children. Barb grew up in Beach and was active in Band, Piano and Cheerleading. She graduated as the Valedictorian from Beach High School in 1959. She attended the University of North Dakota and graduated in 1963 with a degree in Speech Therapy and Audiology. Barb was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. After college, she moved with two friends to Colorado Springs, CO and worked as a speech therapist for 2 years. On July 10, 1965 she married Byron Olien whom she met at UND at the neighboring fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon. After they were married, they lived for a short time in Minneapolis, MN and two years in Gettysburg, SD before moving to Mott in 1968 which would be their permanent home where they raised their two children, Curtis and Brenda. They were also blessed with six grandchildren.

Barb worked as a Speech Therapist and Audiologist for over 30 years at schools in Mott, Regent, New England, New Leipzig, Carson and Flasher, often times driving between the towns on her lunch hour. She absolutely loved working with the kids and helped hundreds of them correct their speech issues. In the latter years of her career, she was disappointed with the amount of paperwork the job required which limited her direct daily contact with the children. She especially enjoyed the other teachers, administrators and aides that she worked with on a daily basis and formed many lifetime bonds with them.

Barb had many talents. She taught piano lessons and accompanied soloists including her husband and children and played piano at the nursing home. She was a wonderful cook and always said it was so easy to cook for Byron because he would be willing to try anything. She was known for her apple pies at the church bake sales, caramels made for friends and family at Christmas and Easter, fried rice, pickles and many other wonderful dishes. She and Byron were part of an International Supper group that met once per month, with each month featuring a different country's cuisine. She took Chinese cooking classes from the school and has collected numerous cook books and recipes. When she found a recipe she liked, she would write "good" by it and plan to use it again. She also volunteered for Meals on Wheels.

Barb enjoyed sewing, counted cross stitch and needlepoint. She enjoyed cross-stitching Precious Moments patterns and many other projects displayed throughout her house and her family's homes. She made elaborate Christmas stockings for her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She also has one made for when the time comes for the first great grandchild. Barb loved to play Bridge. She was involved in several bridge groups and sometimes played 2-3 times per week. She also enjoyed the unofficial Thursday night "Ladies Night" at the Pheasant Cafe with many of her friends.

Her grandchildren were her pride and joy – she was the type of Grandma that always played with them on the floor at their level. She put lots of miles on traveling to Minot and West Fargo to spend time with them. During the summers, each grandchild got to spend a week in Mott to have special grandparent time and a little spoiling, too! She took them on field trips to the Enchanted Highway, the Dinosaur Museum and Medora.

Barb spent lots of time camping and fishing at Lake Tschida & Lake Sakakawea and golfing with her family in the summer. In the winter, they enjoyed traveling to Mazatlan, Mexico with family and friends to their timeshare. Many stories can be told from those adventures – especially the year that they drove through the heart of Mexico along steep hills and narrow roads with no guardrails. She always said that she loved Byron because of his sense of adventure!

After retirement in 2000, they made their winter home in Edinburg, TX. Many new friendships were formed and they looked forward to going back every year until her health prevented her from traveling. She suffered from Alzheimer's disease for over ten years with grace and dignity and fought it head on, continuing to do as much as she could for as long as she could. She entered the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Mott in 2011 and we are forever grateful for the caring staff and volunteers that have been part of her life. She had beautiful blue eyes, a heart of gold and a smile that radiated it.

Barb is survived by her husband, Byron; children Curtis Olien, West Fargo and Brenda (Scott) Kast, Minot; grandchildren: Ryan and Rebecca Olien, West Fargo and Tyler and Sidni Kast, Minot; brother Bill (Vickie) Thompson, Cortez, CO; sister Vicki (Tom) Renshaw, Bloomington, MN; brothers-in-law, Ben Olien, Mott; John Verworn, Geneseo, IL; nephews, Tom (Robin) Olien, Fargo, Cindy (Pasco) Avery, Ft. Pierce, Florida; Dave Olien, Witchita, Kansas, Eric (Melissa) Renshaw, Mpls, MN; Chris (Kat) Renshaw, Mpls, MN; Katie Renshaw, Mpls, MN; TJ Thompson Tigard, OR.

She was preceded in death by her parents, father and mother-in-Law Alfred and Margaret Olien, grandsons Nathan and Justin Olien and sisters-in law Patricia Olien and Phyllis Verworn.