Obituary of Kristi Ruth Ann Olmanson

Obituary Kristi Ruth Ann Olmanson died Sunday, May 22, 2016 at the age of 73. She is survived by her partner of 34 years, Barbara A. Bell, her daughter, Kirsten Griffith Appell Mair [Bruce Mair], a sister, Joanne Pedersen [Connie], and two brothers, Vern Olmanson [Jan] and Don Olmanson [Barb], two grandsons, Evan Mair (20) and Carson Mair (16) and many nieces and nephews. Born in St. Peter, Minnesota to Dr. Edmund Goodwin Olmanson, physician/surgeon, and Gertrude Luella Evanson, writer/pianist and loving mother, bedridden for most of Kristi’s life, who died when Kristi was just 16. Young Kristi ran wild and grew wise early, with a sister six years her senior doing her best to watch over her and two older brothers already trained on their adult lives. A pants-wearing, cowboy-loving, tom-boy with a kind heart, a strong-will, and a life-long stubborn streak, Kristi defied convention. She was independent, smart, vulnerably innocent, and immediately likable: becoming homecoming queen, attending Mount Holyoke College (where she majored in English and met dear friends including Quaker Helen Griffith, her daughter’s namesake) and living in NYC’s East Village in the mid-60’s as a social worker for three years before returning to Minnesota as a grad student and activist for progressive causes. On June 21, 1969, Kristi married Frederick Appell, whom she met on the picket line of the Grape Strike. She helped publish One Hundred Flowers, a radical newspaper, with Nicki Muggli and Camilla Hall (daughter of the Rev. Hall, chaplain at Gustavus Adolphus, whose violent end in 1974 cut deeply into Kristi’s heart). Like her brothers and sister, Kristi made a career in health and service, first at State Services for the Blind, the MN Social Service Assn., and then as a health clinic and nursing home administrator. She had a brilliant mind, caring heart, a wry sense of humor, and was completely devoted to her only child. An introvert and avid walker and reader, she loved all creatures great and small. She took in strays and wayward souls, and offered shelter to women and children seeking refuge from abuse at the Harriet Tubman Women’s Shelter. Kristi, Barb and Kirsten had homes in the Kenwood and CIDNA neighborhoods, always near lakes and parks convenient for walking. After the onset of dementia from probable Alzheimer's and Lyme, Kristi lived a quiet life which included long walks, drives around town, and visits with family and friends, preferably involving chocolate. She died at Rakhma Peace Home, her residence since 2012, in her daughter’s arms, with her life-partner, a friend, and a loving staff of caregivers at her bedside. A memorial service will be held on her 74th birthday, June 25 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 4201 Sheridan Ave S, Minneapolis 55410. A prelude begins at 10:30 and a reception follows in the parish hall. In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to Rakhma Homes, 4953 Aldrich Ave S, Minneapolis MN 55419.