Greggory G. Olson

BELOIT

  Greggory “Gregg” George Olson, 76, passed away Sunday, May 24, 2026 in Beloit, KS. He was born June 30, 1949 at the Mitchell County Hospital in Beloit, Kansas to Earl Milford Olson and Sarah Lee (Hougland) Olson. He attended Field Grade School and spent his youth with the West Main Street gang of kids while helping his dad at Olson Clothing Store.  Gregg went to Beloit High School and graduated in 1967. During those years, he worked for Harold Chance Grocery and The Clover Farm Store. He also was a Rotary exchange student to Finland in the summer of 1966. Although he was part of the nerd crowd, Gregg got caught doing some pretty funny antics such as sticking a “For Sale” sign out on a small island that was below the Beloit Mill Dam for people to see that were driving across the river bridge. After high school, he attended University of Missouri Science and Technology at Rolla, Mo studying petroleum engineering.

  In 1972, Gregg moved back to Beloit and started work at Torr’s Hy-Klas Grocery. He took a farming job for Charlie Mears in 1974 and worked there until he was hired by Great Plains Landscape which worked at until his retirement in 2009. Retirement didn’t slow him down, he spent 10 years volunteering three days a week at the Mitchell County Museum and took part time jobs at Sunny Slope Apartments. Genealogy and cemetery research were something he was very passionate about. He made yearly pilgrimages to many cemeteries on Memorial Day to decorate graves. He even traveled to Norway twice to walk in the footsteps of his ancestors.

  Gregg married Emily Jo Gruber at the Presbyterian Church in Beloit on November 18, 1978. To this union one daughter, Olivia, was born. Gregg said, “After all that growing up, all I’ve found I wanted to do is play harmonica, write letters & raise Olivia; be with her whenever I can. This was easier than I thought.”

Gregg had many passions: bird watching, fishing, hiking, baking, bike riding and hanging out with friends. He made the decision one summer to hike across Mitchell County from North to South so he and his friends could experience Mitchell County at its fullest. Gregg enjoyed putting pen to paper sending letters to friends and family. He was known to jump in and play some good “Cow Bell” with local band, “Billy Bob and the Belaires”. He grew up playing trombone in the high school band which led to his love for music particularly jazz. Gregg had an extensive library and was an avid reader of all sorts of topics. He was a true renaissance man. His and Jo’s gardens down on the “Wrench Place” were some of the biggest in the county.

“I embrace emerging experience. I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector.” -William Stafford

  Gregg was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his wife, Jo, Barnard, KS; a daughter Olivia and two grandchildren, Emery Grace and Clifton Wayne, Hempstead, TX; a sister, Lynn Ann (Kevin) McWhirter, Rockford, IL; and many nieces and nephews.

  Memorial contributions can be made to Mitchell County Historical Society, Lincoln Art Center, Solomon Valley Hospice, or USD 273 Foundation: Stadium Campaign, c/o, Hall Chapel, PO Box 37, Lincoln, KS 67455.

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