Mary Frances Olson

Mary Frances Martin (Lankster) Olson, 81, of Louisville, KY, died on 4/2/2026.

She was born on 10/7/1944 in Oakland, CA, to Johnny Roy Lankster and Verna Copple. She spent her youth in Alabama and Arkansas. She attended Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO, and Tulsa University in Tulsa, OK. She was always trying to improve herself and feed her intellectual curiosity. She was the Manager of Accounting for Petroleum Crude at Sun Oil in Tulsa, OK. She took early retirement in the 1980s, then started Ares Marketing, a direct mail marketing company, in Louisville, KY, in the 1990s. She retired for a second time in the early 2000s.

She enjoyed reading and traveling around the US and the world. She read at least one book every day and especially enjoyed history. She believed that reading and traveling were essential to making a person well rounded and open to cultures and beliefs outside of one's own. She was a fierce advocate for equal rights no matter someone's gender, color or sexuality.

She was preceded in death by her husband Donald L. Olson, parents, and sister Lucille O'Shea. She is survived by her son Brian Olson of Parsons, KS, daughter Tammy (Doug) Crouse of Parkville, MO, grandson Tyler (Joni Fung) Rexwinkle of Parkville, MD, grandson Preston (Jaime) Crouse of Kansas City, MO, and great-granddaughter Daisy Crouse. She was loved and will be missed.

The family request that any donations be made out to Kentucky Humane Society.

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