Olive Mae (Cornelison) Gehrke

Olive was born to parents, Dennis & Elsie Cornelison on the 17 th day of January, 1916, the youngest of 9 children.  Her father was English to the bone, and mother was Canadian French & Scotch.

They were blessed with longevity, except Olive’s brother Wesley who died at 9 months old from Meningitis. When Olive was age 3, two neighbor girls age 3 also and Olive came down with pneumonia.  The other 2 girls did not survive, but God spared Olive, He must have had a plan for her.

Their first home where Olive was born, in Hertel, WI, was a very large farm home.  Their plumbing and water were on the outside, so there were memories of pumping water, especially the time when the pump handle came back up and hit Olive under the nose and knocked her teeth loose.

Her church life memories as a child were when a Missionary came and stayed with the family for 2 weeks at a time.  Her favorite one was Miss Olson who always held her hand as they walked 2 miles to a one room school that was called “Green Grove.”  Miss Olson always made her feel safe from the “Bears & Wolves” that she thought were in the woods where they walked.  Her school years were happy ones.  They had Ice Cream Socials and Basket Socials where a lady or girl would pack a basket and they would be auctioned off to the highest bidder who would get to eat with the person who packed it.  HOWEVER, before eating, the girl or woman who packed the basket would stand behind a sheet with a bright light shining so it showed only her silhouette and they would have to identify her.  They moved to Spooner where she attended Spooner High School and graduated in 1933.  In 1935, she was united in marriage to her high school sweetheart, Floyd Wedlund, of which they were blessed with 3 daughters, Margel and twins Charlene and Dorene.  They then moved to Balsam Lake, WI.  Floyd never got to see his girls grow up as he died in 1940 in a tragic accident while digging a cesspool.  She then met and married Emil Gehrke on May 21, 1941 of which they were blessed with two daughters Sharon and Juneal.  When she married Emil she gained a son, Robert Gehrke, whose mother had passed away.  When people would ask about their children they always told them “it was my kids, your kids, and our kids” and it turned out they had a loving and caring life together.

Olive was baptized into the Christian faith on June 5, 1944, along with her daughters, Margel, Charlene and Dorene.  She was confirmed on July 16, 1944 at Saint John’s Lutheran Church in Centuria, WI.  On July 3, 1947, they transferred their membership to Faith Lutheran Church in Balsam Lake, WI where she taught Sunday school, was Security and Treasurer of Ladies Aid and sewed bandages or helped wherever she was needed.  She was also active in the Polk County Home Makers club.  Her favorite activities were dancing in her younger years, crocheting, embroidery, and baking.  Her specialty was delicious banana bread that she shared with the Clerk of Courts office many times and it never lasted for long and was very much appreciated by all who enjoyed it.

Olive worked for Polk County for 24 ½ years in the Superintendent of Schools, County Clerk, and County Extension offices.  Then after retiring from Polk County, she worked 6 years from home for the Credit Bureau out of New Richmond, WI.

In her final years, she resided at Frederic Nursing and Rehab Center in Frederic, WI where she shared many good moments with friends and staff.

Olive went to her eternal resting place on Monday, March 17, 2014 and is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters and brothers, first husband Floyd Wedlund and second husband Emil Gehrke, son Robert Gehrke, son-in-law’s LeRoy Ruck and Lavern Saxe, grandsons Warren Hendrickson and John Saxe, great-grandson Brian Gehrke, and great, great-grandson Benjamin Maurer.  She leaves to celebrate her memory: daughters, Margel Ruck of Danbury, WI, Charlene Saxe of Blair, WI, Dorene (Duane) Hendrickson of Balsam Lake, WI, Sharon (Carter) Barker of Lynd, MN, and Juneal (Fred) Hammar of Camarillo, CA, daughter-in-law Doris Gehrke of Minneapolis, MN, 20 grandchildren, and several great and great, great-grandchildren.

The funeral service for Olive will be held on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 11:00 A.M. at Faith Lutheran Church in Balsam Lake.  Pastor Diane Norstad will officiate and music will be provided by Karen Paulsen.   Olive will be laid to rest at the Balsam Lake Cemetery in the spring.  Pallbearers are grandsons Reg and Douglas Gehrke, Wayne, Wesley and Bill Hendrickson, Craig, Jeff, Rod and Scott Saxe, Mike Asher, and Jarred and Jason Barker.

Olive’s family will be greeting visitors at the Kolstad Family Funeral Home in Centuria on Monday, March 24, 2014 from 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. and then again at the church prior to the service beginning at 10:00 A.M.

Olive’s family would like to invite their guests to join them for lunch and fellowship in the church fellowship hall following the funeral.

The Kolstad Family Funeral Home of Centuria has been entrusted with arrangements.