February 17, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

10 things you don’t know about me… The Gary Olson Family

The GARY OLSON FAMILY is being inducted into the SJO Hall of Fame tonight.

  1. Gary and Nancy Olson and their three children, Ory, Isaiah and Bria are all SJO grads.
  2. Gary graduated in 1980. He played basketball and was a member of FFA, serving as president his senior year.
  3. Nancy graduated in 1983 and was a cheerleader all four years.
  4. Ory graduated in 2005. He played basketball all four years, football and track each one year. He was also involved in FFA, serving as president his senior year.
  5. Isaiah graduated in 2007. He was a three sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. His senior year he was captain of basketball and football, which was the 2006 Runner up state team.
  6. Bria graduated in 2010. She was a three sport athlete in volleyball, basketball and track. She was captain of both the volleyball and basketball teams her senior year. She still currently holds the school record in high jump.

    7.Nancy and Ory both graduated from Parkland College. Isaiah and Bria both graduated from the U of I.
  1. Nancy was an SJO Cheer coach for several years and helped start the student cheering section, Maroon Platoon. Gary, Isaiah and Bria all coached basketball at the St. Joseph Grade and Middle Schools for several years. In addition Gary and Isaiah coached freshmen
    basketball at SJO for a few years.
  2. They have previously received the SJO Friend of Education award for their countless hours of volunteer service they have given to SJO.
  3. Gary and Nancy have been married for 37 years. They have nine grandchildren. They all operate the family farm together and reside North of St. Joseph.
in Life, People
Banner
Related Posts

St. Joseph PTC sponsoring school supply drive

July 9, 2019

July 9, 2019

Katie May doesn’t want any child in St. Joseph to start the school year without the supplies they need. The...

10 things you don’t know about me… Leslie Landreth

September 17, 2019

September 17, 2019

Leslie Landreth owner of Little Bloomers Child Care tells us 10 things we don’t know about her! This post is...

Daily Exercise Recommendations

April 16, 2021

April 16, 2021

By: Christie Clinic Department of Family Medicine We all know physical activity is good for our overall health, but many...

‘ B.J. was one who absolutely stood out’

September 10, 2021

September 10, 2021

We asked Matt Davidson, the former Legislative Director for the Illinois Municipal League for his thoughts on B.J. Hackler. Here...

Always Looking to Give Back: Short honored for volunteerism

June 7, 2022

June 7, 2022

Tim Short wants to inspire the younger generations. Short, who was honored with the SJO Friend of Education Award this...

Treatment for the common cold

December 23, 2021

December 23, 2021

By Jeanelle Murphy, DO The common cold is caused by a virus. There are over 200 common cold viruses but...

Food pantry in need of donations

August 23, 2019

August 23, 2019

The shelves are almost bare at the St. Joseph Community Food Pantry. The pantry, housed in the St. Joseph Church...

5 Questions with Cohen Sands

January 26, 2023

January 26, 2023

We asked the members of the Heritage Bass Chorus five questions. Here are Cohen Sands answers. What does it mean...

10 things you don’t know about me…. Katie May

July 17, 2019

July 17, 2019

Every week we ask a local resident to tell us 10 facts about themselves. This week we spoke to St....

Senior Spotlight… Anna Wentzloff

January 27, 2020

January 27, 2020

What are your plans after graduation?My plan after graduation is to attend college to become a Child Life Specialist concentrating...

Sewing it all together: Hartman taking part in Project Run and Play

March 31, 2022

March 31, 2022

Growing up, St. Joseph resident Emily Hartman used to watch her mother and grandmother sew.They would create one-of-a-kind, custom-made clothes...

Senior Spotlight…Jenna Albrecht

November 15, 2019

November 15, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we spoke to Jenna Albrecht, who is a...

‘He was the kind of person everyone was happy to see’

July 19, 2025

July 19, 2025

Sam Shonkwiler was full of life. He would walk in a room and people would call his name. He had...

Fine arts student of the month… Kabriel Schuster

August 29, 2019

August 29, 2019

Each month a committee of teachers selects a fine arts student of the month from nominees from the drama, art...

Comments
Leave a Reply