FRANCES ALLENE HARSHMAN OLSON

She taught fifth grade at Burns Elementary for ten years, retiring in 1978. Webster died April 7, 1985, at Emporia. She was elected as a Chase County Commissioner in 1992 and re-elected in 1996 and was the first woman to serve in this position in Chase County. She became active in senior activities and served on the board for the North Central Agency for Aging and the Silver Haired Legislature and was very active in politics for many years. She met Gerald Park when they were both serving on the 18-County North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging Board at Manhattan. She and Jerry were married at her daughter’s home on December 24, 1999, in Emporia. They both lived at the Presbyterian Manor in Emporia until July 13, 2001, when they moved to Presbyterian Manor in Lawrence. Jerry died in January of 2007. One of her greatest joys was painting and she was an accomplished artist in several mediums. She was a member of the Chase County Artists Guild and a lifetime member of Order of the Eastern Star Falls Chapter #25. She was, also, a very talented seamstress. She is survived by her three sons: Willard Olson and his wife, Joan, of Paradise Valley, AZ., Willis Olson and his wife, Sally, of Eudora, KS., R. Douglas Olson and his wife, Kay, of Westmoreland, one daughter, Karen Shumate and her husband, Mark, of Lawrence, KS., eleven grandchildren: Andra Jean Olson Riffle, Eric Gilbert Olson, Kim Renee' Youngblood Davidson, Britt Olson, Ann-Jennifer Olson Hart, Kristine Elizabeth Olson, Abiligail Allene Olson Brus, Jason Derek Olson, Erin Xan Olson Radecki, Shannon Gayle Shumate Doser, and Joshua Douglas Shumate; and twenty great-grandchildren: Julian, Olivia, Lily, Stellen, Sophia, and Nicholas Olson, Jack and Nicholas Davidson, Zoe and Juliet Tuggle, Anita Brus, Claribelle and Judah Olson, Duncan and Ryder Radecki, Tatum, Sam, and Drake Doser, and Gunnar and Kora Shumate. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Webster and Jerry; and her brother, Frank Harshman. Condolences may be left at www.brown-bennett-alexander.com. The family will meet friends Monday, from 10:00 A.M. until service time. Friends may call at the funeral home Sunday, from 1:00 until 6:00 P.M. Memorial contributions to the Chase County Courthouse Fund may be sent in care of the funeral home, 201 Cherry, Cottonwood Falls, 66845.

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