Sylvina "Sally" (Olson) Welte

Sylvina “Sally” Welte, age 94, of Alexandria, MN, and formerly of Brooten, passed away at Grand Arbor Memory Care in Alexandria on January 20, 2020. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Monday, January 27th at Scandia Lutheran Church, rural Glenwood, with Pastor Ron Knutson officiating. Visitation will be from 3:00 – 5:00 P.M. on Sunday at Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in GLENWOOD, and will continue at the church on Monday, beginning at noon. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood.

Sylvina “Sally” Olson was born on June 26, 1925 in Gilchrist Twp., Pope County, Minnesota to Orrin and Caroline (Johnson) Olson. Sally grew up in rural Sunburg, along with her two sisters, Edna and Yvonne. As a young woman, Sally worked in a variety of places. One of her most interesting jobs was as a welder on a new aircraft carrier in Tacoma, Washington. Called "Ole" by her co-workers, she daringly and willingly worked in tight spaces and welded while hanging over the side of the ship. She also worked in a wallpaper manufacturing plant, a dress shop, World War II equipment production facility, and at Old Dutch Foods in Minneapolis, where she met her future husband, Clinton “Clint” Welte. The two were married on March 30, 1957 in Minneapolis, and settled in nearby Brooklyn Center, where they started their family. They were blessed with a daughter, Sarah, and two sons, Alan and James.

In 1969, the family moved to Brooten where they began to farm and started an irrigation equipment manufacturing business known as Welte Enterprises. In the mid 1980’s they formed a partnership and sold Aqua Therm wood-fired boilers for several years. Sally and Clint enjoyed 56 years of marriage before his death in 2013.

Sally was known by her family and friends as being kind-hearted and "sassy" and as having a great sense of humor. When she had visitors, she enjoyed handing out a seemingly endless supply of cookies and telling stories of her past adventures. If the weather was nice, she could be found driving around in her golf cart or Gator, exploring the trails she had created in the wooded areas on her property. She was always willing to learn new things and could tackle any project. Her favorite hobbies were making custom wood crafts and baking. She put her baking and cooking skills to good use as a food coordinator for events at Scandia Lutheran Church, where she was an active and faithful member.

In August 2019, Sally moved to Grand Arbor Memory Care in Alexandria where she resided until her death on January 20, 2020, having reached the age of 94 years. Her family would like to express their gratitude to the staff at Grand Arbor for the excellent care they provided Sally during her time there.

Sally is survived by her children, Alan (Mary) Welte of Bismarck, ND, Sarah (Randy Traut) Lewis of Brooten, and James (Ruthie) Welte of Alexandria; her sister, Yvonne Kjeldahl of Belgrade; 13 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren; along with cousins, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Orrin and Caroline Olson; her sister, Edna Lee; and her husband, Clinton Welte.

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