Isabelle Olson

Olson, Isabella "Isa" MADISON-Isabella "Isa" Olson passed into the ages on Monday, March 2, 2009. She was born in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, on March 26, 1919, to James and Sarah McAfee. Isa grew up in the peaceful village of Dunmurry, became a member of St. Colemans Church of Ireland, and later obtained employment in Belfast, until World War II tore the peacefulness from the world. She remembered mornings, walking streets to work, closed in the afternoons from unexploded bombs. It was in Belfast that she met her future husband, Carmen, a soldier in the U. S. Army Air Corps. They were married and had a child, Barri. Because the war was winding down, Carmen was shipped home and had to wait more than a year to be joined by Isa in New York. The crossing on the Marine Flasher (a liberty ship) was the worst crossing the captain, of 40 years experience, had ever been on. A spring storm hit in the middle of the Atlantic with nearly 40 foot waves, some reports said as high as 60 feet, and put the ship, Isabella and her year old baby in great peril, with the ships pumps and fresh water supply lasting only long enough for the storm to subside. Isa and Carmen made their home in Madison and had another child, Kathleen, devastatingly lost in a tragic traffic accident at the age of 18. She loved her husband, children and grandchildren, and she in turn was loved by Carmen, Barri, Kathleen, and by Barris wife, Vicki and grandchildren, Sara, Justin and Amanda, along with her great-grandchild, Lilliana, and dog, Sassy. Isa was the type of person who would give all of herself, and ask nothing in return. She is also survived by her brother, Christie; and sister, Lily. Isa was preceded in death by her beloved sisters, Francis, Alice, Sally, and Marie; and her brothers, James, Aaron, and Jack. Funeral services will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL HOME, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 6, 2009. Visitation will be at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will be at Roselawn Memorial Park