Established on 12.28.2022 by Dr. Gerald M. Olsen †
In September 1955 two young people from different parts of America met on the Concordia campus. Over time, Lois Gilbertson and Gerry Olsen fell in love and eventually married in 1959. Their solid marriage (the greatest gift one can receive in this life) lasted until Lois died in October 2016. She had battled non-Hodgins lymphoma since 1997 but following a stem cell transplant in December 2014 another cancer, myelodysplastic syndrome, ended her life.
It was at Concordia that Lois clarified in her mind that she wanted to become a nurse. Concordia did not have a nursing program at that time and Lois transferred after two years at Concordia to the University of Minnesota where she obtained her B.S. in nursing in 1960. Throughout her life, Lois privately said on multiple occasions, even in her last days, that she knew of no one who was blessed more than the two of us. While she was referring primarily to our family, children, and grandchildren, some of that blessing involved our comfortable status.
For four decades Gerald was a practicing ophthalmologist in Ft. Collins, Colorado where over time he developed the Eye Center of Northern Colorado. Happily, while honoring his wife, monies were set aside to establish the Lois and Gerald Olsen Endowed Scholarship to be awarded to students majoring in nursing at Concordia College.
The Lois and Gerald Olsen Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to one or more students of any class majoring in nursing.
† - Testamentary endowments may not be contributed to until they are fully established.