Todd Olson

Todd was born in Watertown, SD. He died on October 23, 2010 after a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Todd and Carrie Jo Short (Heimark) were married in 1999. He was a gentle and generous man who will be greatly missed. Todd's life was filled with acts of quiet courage, not the least of which was leaving the hometown he loved at age 40 to marry his high school sweetheart and stepping into new roles of husband and father to two teenagers. He graduated from Southwest MN Technical College, working for seventeen years as a machinist at MTI in Montevideo and for several years at SOS Machine in Prescott, WI. Todd was a proud member of Sons of the American Legion. He loved watching sports, car races and stock market news and he often spoke of fishing adventures with friends in Canada. More recently he spent hours on the banks of the Mississippi watching eagles and other river life. Todd dearly loved his time at the cabin on Lake Crystal. He was always open to trying new things and took up silversmithing a few years ago. Later in life he discovered a love of travel, culminating in the trip of a lifetime to Italy.Todd is preceded in death by his mother Maxine Olson who also died of IPF, his grand parents and his much loved dog, Kirby. He is survived by his wife and best friend, Carrie Jo Short, children Nichole and Alex Short, his father Dennis Olson of Montevideo, MN, brother Scott Olson (Donna) of Jackson, MN and their children and grandchildren. IPF is a terminal disease and Todd was on the lung transplant waiting list when he died. He would love it if everyone reading this would sign up to be a donor at www.donatelifemn.org . Memorials are preferred to Hastings Family Service, Hastings MN or the Community Sharing Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation.