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Senior Love Stories: Earl and Diana Olson

Our Senior Love Stories series illuminates the catalysts and details of life that last through the years, that become cherished memories dear to our hearts. The GrandPad team works tirelessly to keep seniors connected with their family and to give them the tools necessary to capture every moment so it never slips away. The stories we hold dear range from epic tales of adventure to small, intimate moments of firsts, of loss, and of love. Join us as we get to know Earl and Diana Olson and their history of love in this installment of Senior Love Stories.

Sometimes, when it comes to love, you have to break the rules. That’s what Earl Olson did. Earl first met his sweetheart Diana at a local school dance. The dance floor is a magical yet typical place for love to blossom. But this dance was a little different. Earl didn’t go to that school. Earl had graduated from another school a year or two before. And, as Diana fondly recalls, he certainly couldn’t dance. “I had no idea what he was doing there,” she marvels. Shortly after they briefly locked eyes at Diana’s school sock hop, Earl shuffled over and asked her to dance.

“I couldn’t dance,” he admits, laughing and nodding his head matter-of-factly. “But I was really good at intermission.” Diana only knew who Earl was because she had sat next to his cousin, another Olson, in every class from an early age. As she tells it, she sat next to an Olson all throughout school. And then, she married one. Diana graduated from high school in 1958, and she and Earl promptly got married as soon as they could, on October 10th, 1959.

Now Earl and Diana have quite the family. With 2 children, 4 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren, there are more Olsons than ever before. Their children are local (Earl and Diana grew up in Hutchinson), but some grandchildren have relocated elsewhere with their families. Normally this wouldn’t be much of an issue. Earl, a dairy farmer by trade who has held a plethora of titles and jobs throughout his life, used to take Diana on countless trips around the globe. As a couple that has been to China, Australia, Hawaii, and spent their 50th anniversary in Europe, Earl and Diana have no qualms about traveling.

But after Earl suffered an accident while on the dairy farm, they’ve had to move into town and are not nearly as mobile as they once were. Visiting their grandchildren and seeing their great-grandchildren is now a much more difficult task. Or, it was before Earl and Diana purchased a GrandPad. The tablet designed specifically for seniors allows Earl and Diana to see countless photos that their grandchildren take around the globe with their families, inspired by Earl and Diana’s own adventures. The GrandPad helps connect Earl and Diana to their large family without making them feel limited. As Earl confidently notes, regarding the home where they currently live, “everything is handicapped accessible. But we’re not handicapped yet.”

Owning a GrandPad puts Earl and Diana in control of their day and allows them to interact regularly with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They both consider it a “security blanket” for the other to have essential contact information and calling abilities in case one of them has to leave the house by themselves.

Owning a GrandPad keeps Earl in particular entertained for hours on end. He’s a big fan of Solitaire, and as a sufferer of occasional insomnia he’s found that playing Solitaire on his GrandPad is the perfect way to wind down before trying to fall back asleep. He also loves exploring the Music app. As long as Earl doesn’t try to teach his family any new dance moves, we foresee an ongoing family connectedness only made possible with the GrandPad.