Orval Oleson

After a fourteen-month battle with stomach cancer, Orval Oleson of Laurens, South Carolina, died on Saturday, November 12, 2005 at St. Francis Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina.

He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 10, 1944, to Vernie Eleanor Lind Oleson and Otis Byron Oleson. Orval attended grade school in Funk and Holdrege, Nebraska, and graduated from high school in Holdrege, Nebraska. He received his B.A. (Music Education) from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, his M.M. (Clarinet Performance) from the University of Louisville, his certificate from the Universita Italiana Per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy, and his D.M.A. degree (Clarinet Performance) from the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music. He did post-doctoral study in Music Technology at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

He met his wife, Virginia at Bethany College in a summer school Prophets class. They were married July 13, 1968 at Arkansas City, Kansas. After their marriage they lived in Port Huron, Michigan; Perugia, Italy; Bergamo, Italy; Prairie Village, Kansas; Taylors, South Carolina; Greeley, Colorado; and Laurens, South Carolina.

During his teaching career Orval taught in the Port Huron, Michigan public school system, the English Centre in Bergamo, Itlay; University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music; North Greenville College in Tigerville, South Carolina; and Presbyterian College. Over the years he taught a variety of classes including Music Appreciation, Woodwind Techniques, Public School Music, Italian for Singers, Twentieth Century Music, Instrumental Conducting, and Introduction to Music. He served as Chair of the Music Department at PC. He was instrumental in developing computer and media technologies for the music program at PC. Orval taught clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and flute students. He judged high school and college instrumental solo and ensemble competitions in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Among his other experiences in discerning and determining quality and worth, he was a certified judge for the Kansas City Barbecue Society.

He performed with the Louisville Orchestra, the Kentucky Opera Association Orchestra, the Kansas City Civic Symphony, the Greenville Symphony, the Greenville Chamber Orchestra, and numerous pit orchestras. Among the conductors he played under were Marshall Haddock, Robert Whitney, Peter Rickett, Jorge Mester, Sixten Ehrling, Morton Gould, Hans Schweiger, Robert Craft, Igor Stravinsky, Edvard Tchivzhel, Arthur Fiedler and Keith Lockhart.

Orval was a member of the College Music Society, the International Clarinet Society, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Delta Omicron. He was an Honorary Life Member of the Lutheran Men in Mission of the South Carolina Synod. He served on the Board of Trustees of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.

He was an avid fan of Nebraska Cornhusker sports.

He was proud of being the fourth generation of his Swedish Lutheran and Norwegian Lutheran families. Orval was Web master of the Lind family web site: svantelind.org

He is survived by his wife, Virginia, of the home; his son, Erik, of Winston Salem, North Carolina; his daughter, Kari, of Clinton; his aunts, Roxie Lind of Kearney, Nebraska; Shirley Oleson of Crete, Nebraska; and Doris Oleson, of Holdrege, Nebraska; and his first cousins, Julie McKinney of Yucaipa, California; Janet Fox of Kearney, Nebraska; Bob Lind of Bayfield, Wisconsin; and Jim Lind of Tucson, Arizona; and two cousins, Nancy Scheet of Bellevue, NE and Ron Oleson of Crete NE.

Orval was predeceased by his parents and his sister, Rosalind Jane Oleson.

A great and positive voice and “always to be counted on” presence has
been silenced and with the silence comes another void in the ever vanishing
structure and network of family and friends that has peopled our world here
on earth. We shall miss the comfort and strength of his being in our world.

Graveside services were held November 26th at 10:30 a.m. at Friehem Lutheran
Cemetery in Funk, Nebraska.