Leonard A. Olson

Leonard A. Olson, 82, of Comstock Township, MN, died on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Thief River Falls Care Center, in the quiet morning that followed several days of laughing and storytelling with his family.

Leonard was born on October 22, 1943, in Warren, MN, to Raymond and Ethel (Connett) Olson. Raised near Viking in Comstock Township, Leonard learned early what “work” meant. He learned it so well, he barely went to Warren High School, and left early to continue on at his summer job at Miller Oil Burning. In the years that followed, Leonard himself followed wherever the good pay and hours were- taking time to help his folks on the family farm, of course. He enjoyed working with his hands and held all sorts of positions in the manufacturing businesses in the neighboring towns. He was a machinist at Errico, a worker at Hydra Mac, a welder at Polaris, a salesman for Terog, a machinist in Roseau, a beet harvest driver in Crookston for ages, etc. Always on the move, he enjoyed meeting people where they were at, anywhere from Minnesota to the Montana oil fields he worked in the 60s.

Never quite putting his wandering behind him, he raised a daughter, Catherine, with the help of his parents. If he brought her with him from place to place, the farm in Viking was forever where his heart was. A true “character,” Leonard was always sporting some style of big facial hair that complemented his weather, calloused hands- because he was also a “tinkerer.” He turned what most people would call scraps into working machines: old bicycles once became a horse cart, to give you an idea. And he really enjoyed his horses.

He'd finish up working on the farm, tends to the dogs and horses, then find a friendly ear for a tall tale of his. Leonard could keep a straight face alongside the most outlandish story, the glint in his eye eventually giving away that he was pulling your leg. He had a fondness for dogs, enjoying riling them up, and then going for drives with one riding shotgun. He was a frequent hunter (for just about anything that moves), a gun show regular, and a man for whom the gears in his head were always turning.

He leaves behind him about a thousand projects undone, but most importantly he leaves his family: daughter, Catherine Olson; sister, RaeAnn (Harris) Halvorson; grandchildren Lindsey (Mike) Saulton, Jamie (Dusty) Day, Stevie Vance, Jackson (Aspen) Smith, and Jake (Alissa) Smith; great-grandchildren, Landon, Madalynn, Beau, Autumn, Echo, Olson, and Yanis; and nieces and nephew, Alicia Backer, Chad (Shelly) Peters, and Kris (Scott) Mostrom; great-nieces-and-nephews, Stephie, Josie, Kassidy, Cody, Ayden, Maverick, Kaden, Camdyn; and great-greats, Azure, and Kyzer.

Leonard was preceded in death by his parents.

VISITATION: Thursday evening, April 9, 2026, from 4:00 - 6:00 PM, in DuBore Funeral Home Chapel, Warren, MN.
INTERMENT: Comstock Township Cemetery, near Radium, MN.  The burial will be rescheduled for a later date due to the wet conditions in the cemetery.