January 13, 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

Kids Say….What does farmer do?

January 6, 2020

January 6, 2020

We asked students from St. Joseph Grade School what they think a farmer does each day. Here are their answers....

St. Joseph UMC helping those in need

April 4, 2019

April 4, 2019

People needing help feeding their families are getting one more option in the St. Joseph area. Tonight, the Midwest Food...

Giving back: PVO helps out Abernathy family with fundraiser

October 15, 2019

October 15, 2019

The Prairieview-Ogden community knows how to come together. And tonight is no exception. Corey Abernathy, who was an assistant coach...

10 things you don’t know about me… Susan McKinney

May 28, 2019

May 28, 2019

We asked one of our favorite librarian to tell us 10 things we didn’t know about her. This post is...

Cummings hopes to continue work as trustee

December 7, 2020

December 7, 2020

Village Trustee Terri Cummings has big goals for the village. Short term, Cummings hopes to contribute to the betterment of...

5 things you don’t know about me… Braxton Kuchenbrod

August 7, 2019

August 7, 2019

Braxton is in the running for the title of Little Prince! He is six years old. We asked him to...

Doctor’s love of medicine started at early age

February 18, 2019

February 18, 2019

St. Joseph resident Dr. Jeanelle Murphy fell in love with medicine in the oncology wing at the Children’s Hospital of...

Area students make Parkland Deans list

June 5, 2019

June 5, 2019

Area students make the Parkland Deans List FithianJazmine L. Rodriguez HomerGracyn A. AllenBrody D. ColeFiona N. ElyLena C. LeonbergerMarissa L....

SJO FFA holds petting zoo

February 21, 2019

February 21, 2019

An annual tradition is taking place at St. Joseph-Ogden High School today—the SJO FFA petting zoo to celebrate National FFA...

‘We lost a very good man in Jim Cotter’

September 2, 2021

September 2, 2021

Jim Cotter loved to brag about his kids. This past Saturday was no exception. Cotter took time out from covering...

10 things you don’t know about me… Kelly Cooper

April 30, 2019

April 30, 2019

Ogden Village Trustee Kelly Cooper was elected in 2017. Since then she has worked diligently to make sure Ogden has...

Ask the doctor: Do adults need vaccines?

November 4, 2020

November 4, 2020

“Do adults need vaccines?” By: Jeanelle Murphy, DO Yes, adults definitely should have vaccines and keep up their childhood vaccines...

Auto shop offering free oil changes to healthcare workers

June 12, 2020

June 12, 2020

St. Joseph Automotive and Diesel is helping the people who help us. During the month of June, in collaboration with...

10 things you don’t know about me… Taylor Baldner

January 29, 2020

January 29, 2020

This week we asked Taylor Baldner of Taylor-Made Photography to tell us 10 things about herself. Baldner has recently joined...

Get to know Scott Perkins

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Scott is running for the St. Joseph Grade School Board. What motivated you to run for school board? I’ve been...

Comments
Leave a Reply