Alayne Olson

Alayne Olson, 88, of Aurora, passed away on Monday, April 1, 2024 in Aurora.
Funeral services will be held 10 a.m., Monday, April 8 at Evangelical Free Church in Aurora, 1202 A Street, Aurora. Interment will be in Monroe Evangelical Free Cemetery following the service at 1 p.m.  Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Sunday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary, 1404 L St., Aurora.   Memorials may be made in care of the family to be determined at a later date. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com.
Alayne Olson (88) died on Monday, April 1, in Aurora, Neb.
Alayne was born in Stanton, Mich., in 1935. Her childhood was happy but was forever changed when her father died from a heart attack in 1940, when she was only 4 years old.  Her mother held her family together with the help of their church family and friends. Their mother’s devotion to them, her beautiful provision of and care for them, gave them stability and joy in their childhoods.
As she grew up in Stanton, she loved her small-town life. She enjoyed everything from ice skating with friends on cold winter nights, cheerleading, playing her clarinet, and singing in the chorus, to being cast as the lead, Corney Belle, in the hillbilly themed drama her senior class performed.
Alayne attended Trinity College in Chicago for two years before transferring to Central Michigan University where she graduated with a degree in teaching in 1958. Following graduation, she taught for two years in Chicago before moving to be near the love of her life, John, whom she’d met in Chicago years earlier and lived in Nebraska. She taught in Beatrice for a year while they were engaged.
In 1961, Alayne married the man she would love and share life with for over 60 years. After their Michigan wedding, they moved to Nebraska, where John farmed, to begin their lives together. A 60th anniversary beach celebration in St. Augustine, Fla., with their children and grandchildren was a cherished milestone. John and Alayne both loved the Lord, living for him through thick and thin. 
Her teaching career spanned the years before having her own children (1961-63) and after her youngest son entered high school, culminating with a retirement from the Aurora school system recognizing 24 years of teaching primarily 4th graders (1984-99). Her love for her students and of teaching permeated the lives of the children who were in her classes year after year.
Serving at her home church was always a huge part of her life. Her faith in Jesus Christ was the bedrock that fueled the way she loved others. Whether she was teaching Sunday School, VBS, AWANA and or serving in the kitchen and in women’s ministry, she gave her whole heart to all she did. Her Bible was well loved and she couldn’t get enough of C.S. Lewis.
Alayne loved music, playing the organ and piano her whole life and she enjoyed going to concerts with friends, as well as opening her home again and again to others. She loved to travel and especially loved any time with her family. Family vacations took her all over the U.S. and to Europe. Her children and grandchildren were her delight and the bookshelf full of scrapbooks she made attest to her adoration of them.   
Alayne is survived by her husband of 61 years, John; one daughter Rhonda (Keith) and two sons, Doug (Janna) and Mark (Sissy); and 11 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Rhonda’s family lives in Orlando, Fla., while Doug’s family resides in Ord, Neb., and Mark’s in Denver, Colo. She is also survived by two younger siblings, Luke Rader (Maryann) and Lori (Rader) Anger, and three nephews.