Age 84. Mary was born On August 20, 1933 in Groton, South Dakota and died on October 23, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the eldest of four children of Rev. Melford and Orla Rice Knutson. Her father served parishes in Groton and Red Wing, Minnesota, before accepting a call to Albert Lea, where Mary spent her formative years. She attended St. Olaf College, in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in music. She performed piano recitals and toured Norway as a member of the St. Olaf Choir. After graduating, she spent a year as a parish worker in Chicago, and married Nels Robert Olson, a college classmate, on September 1, 1956. They raised their four children in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Nels established a medical practice and Mary taught school for several years. Faith, service and family were the pillars of Mary's life. She was a loving and energetic mother and, in her social life, established steadfast, lifelong friendships. As a member of Zion Lutheran and Lord of Light Lutheran churches in Ann Arbor, she served on many church committees and was a founding member of the Friendship Circle, which connected church women from racially diverse congregations, a group that built enduring relationships and met regularly for decades. Mary employed her piano skills as an accompanist for student instrumentalists in solo and ensemble competitions. She brought her zeal for service into the home, becoming a host mother for foreign scholars and students at the University of Michigan. She reached even wider to serve neighbors, relatives, and members of the community at large, in particular those from the deaf community. Her easy social manner made everyone welcome at her table. Mary became a strong advocate for gay acceptance, gay rights and gay ordination in the church, inspired by the experience of her brother Philip Knutson, a gay Lutheran minister who died after contracting AIDS. Mary and Nels traveled widely, including trips to Norway, China, Indonesia, Germany and Italy. After Nels' death of Alzheimer's disease in September 2012, Mary moved to St. John's on the Lake in Milwaukee, near the home of her son, Jon. Mary is survived by her children Jon (Julia Vosper), Lydie (Chris) Raschka, Siri (Jonathan Strom), and Kari (Charles Tien). She is further survived by her grandchildren, Ahna and Ezra Olson, Ingo Raschka, Solveig Olson-Strom, Madeline and Kaia Tien; her brother Mark (Jan) Knutson; and sister-in-law Marsha Knutson. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4th, in the chapel at Saint John's on the Lake, 1840 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee. A second service will be held in Ann Arbor in January. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Alzheimer's Association, Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter, 620 S. 76th St., Suite 160, Milwaukee WI 53214, or by contributions to the Saint John's staff scholarship fund, Saint John's Foundation, 1840 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53202