OLSEN, Erling

ERLING OLSEN 1933 ~ 2026 After a life well and fully lived, Erling died peacefully on June 8, 2026.
Erling smiled easily and often. He was resourceful, hard-working, practical, generous, wise, and adventurous. He was also kind, funny, stoic, incredibly tough and resilient, and he almost never complained.
Erling was born July 10, 1933, in Rakkestad, Norway. He was the third surviving boy of Nils and Sidsel Olsen. He grew up in occupied Norway during World War II, a time of great difficulty. Food, clothing, and shoes for growing children were in short supply. Despite mostly having oats and potatoes to eat as a child, Erling spent the rest of his life eating oats and potatoes any time he had the choice.
After the war, education and jobs in Norway were limited and Erling dreamed of being a cowboy. Kolbjørn (Ole) Lien, who had immigrated to Canada from Rakkestad in 1924, offered him work at his farm. A few years later, he was old enough to travel 7 (seasick) days by ship and 4 days by train to Warner in March 1952.
Erling worked in farming and ranching for many years around Warner, including for the Lien, Doenz, and Conrad families. These early connections built lifelong and cherished friendships for our family.
Erling enjoyed fitness, lifting weights, running, rodeo, and he also tried boxing for a few years. He competed in calf roping in rodeos for several years, including one year at the Calgary Stampede, before it was a big deal, he used to say. Boxing was how Erling met his wife, Hope. He suffered a broken nose during a sparring match in 1962, and it was her father, Dr. Quentin Schindler, who fixed Erling’s nose. Erling exercised for most of his life, including until only two months before he died.
Erling and Hope married in 1965. They bought the home half section from Alice and Forrest Dunk, which included the site of the former Powell School. Together, they built their home, raised their kids, enjoyed the outdoors, and built a successful farm operation. Erling was a devoted husband and wonderful father and grandfather.
Erling always loved western movies, bluegrass, and country music. Some of his favourites were Wilf Carter, Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, the Montana radio program Country Gold, High Noon, Gunfight at the OK Corral, and Bonanza.
Erling was a proud and experienced pilot, with 2955.6 hours’ flying time. He maintained his private pilot’s license from 1978-2021 (43 years) and he also had his commercial license. He was last checked out on December 1, 2020. Most of his flying time was in C-GDAH, a Cessna 172 that he kept in beautiful condition. He flew many Sunday mornings over the years to fly-in pancake breakfasts hosted by the Flying Farmers. Erling was a member of the Warner Flying Club and instrumental in rebuilding a Canadair CT-133A that is displayed at the entrance to Warner.
Erling loved working on and caring for the land for 73 years. Just last year, he rolled peas and drove grain truck for a few rounds. He liked trying new things, including growing hemp and rebuilding wind turbines. Erling was very proud that his son, Reid, farmed with him and our mom. He was so proud of his daughters’ careers, too. He really enjoyed it when Monica or Erin, or better yet, Erin’s husband Leon (our parents’ favourite child) helped during harvest. He would joke that farming was so good he could afford to hire a doctor or lawyer to drive truck.
Erling was (in)famous for relaxing with half a can of light beer at the end of a hard day farming (and saving the other half in the fridge for another day), for loving polka music and the accordion, for following the news and politics, for having a sweet tooth, and for having an extremely limited repertoire in the kitchen. He always loved to visit, and he stayed in touch with school friends from Norway, his siblings, generations of people from the Warner area, and with fellow pilots his whole life.
He was proud to participate in cardiac amyloidosis research efforts, hoping his participation could contribute to prevention or treatment for others.
Erling is survived by his wife of 61 years, Hope, his children Monica, Erin (Leon), and Reid, and his grandchildren Ava, Jaydan, Tanya (aka Flick), and Macey; his brother- and sister-in-law, Reid and Linda Schindler, his nieces Brenda (Tom), Bonnie, and their children; his younger sister, Grete Kvernhusengen, nieces Elinor (Roy) and Laila (Iver), nephew Roar, their children and their grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brothers HÃ¥kon and Oddvar and by his nephews Kai and Graham.
A Celebration of life will be held from 2-5 PM on July 12, 2026, at the Warner Elks Hall – 210 4th Avenue, Warner, Alberta.
In lieu of flowers and to honour Erling, who loved to fly with young and aspiring pilots in the Air Cadet program, please donate to the Squadron Sponsoring Committee of either 11 RCACS, PO Box 27005, Postal Station Henderson, Lethbridge, T1K 6X5 or 225 RCACS, PO Box 4623, Taber T1G 2E1.
Visit www.mbfunerals.com to send a condolence.