Gene L. Olson, age 77, died Monday, September 19, 2005, at his home in Volga. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, September 22, 2005, at First Lutheran Church in Volga, with interment and military graveside rites in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at Eidsness Funeral Chapel in Volga. Gene LeRoy Olson was born December 13, 1927, at Arlington, South Dakota, to Carl Albert and Ellen Katherine (Ahnberg) Olson. He was confirmed at Sinai Lutheran Church. He attended school in Sinai, DeSmet, and Ahnberg, and graduated from high school in Sinai in 1945. He was active in sports throughout his school years. Following high school, Gene served in the Merchant Marine. He worked for various farmers doing construction and farm work. On September 19, 1948, he married Ruth Langner in Brookings. He continued to pursue his love of watching things grow through farming in the Volga-Sinai area, and he and Ruth began farming on their own in the mid-1950s. Gene was a member of First Lutheran Church in Volga, and Quail-Evenson American Legion Post No. 133 of Sinai. He served on the District No. 95 school board. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, trapping, bowling, playing cards, and pitching horseshoes. He especially valued the time spent with his grandkids and other family. Survivors include his wife, Ruth, of Volga; three sons: Gary (Karen) Olson, Jeff (Mary) Olson, and Scott (Lynn) Olson, all of Volga; two daughters: Anita (Steven) Ust and Joan (Rick) VanSambeek, both of Brookings; 14 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a sister, Maxine Henrikson, of Rapid City. He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Steven; and a brother, Wayne.