Olski, Rev. Donald W.
(Aug. 4, 1927 - Nov. 21, 2004)Accountant and religious leader. Despite lack of proof in the 1930 census of Neenah, Wisconsin, the Sheboygan Press, Nov. 23, 2004, reported that Donald W. Olski was born in the city of 9,939 persons on the shores of Lake Winnebago, the son of Walter Olski and Ethel Phaneuf. At the time, the only Olski families in Wisconsin were listed in Ashland, Stevens Point, and Plover. Possibly, Walter Olski, who was born 1 Feb. 1903, and Ethel Phaneuf, with whom he had seven children, settled later in Neenah, for his death was recorded there in July of 1976. Ethel Olski died 8 Nov. 1990 at Waupuca, Wisconsin.
After graduating from Neenah High School, Donald Olski attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in accounting. Whether he returned to the papermaking city of his birth to work and raise a family is uncertain. As his children grew, however, he decided to become a religious leader.
He attended the Chicago Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1966 by the United Church of Christ. Over the years, he ministered to the congregations in Rosendale, a village of 223 persons in Fond du Lac County; Darlington, a city of 2400 in Lafayette County; Egg Harbor, the same size as Rosendale, in Door County; and De Pere, which sits today on both sides of the Fox River in Brown County, was the last place in Wisconsin where he provided pastoral care.
He took his family, or the last of the stay-at-homes, to Sturgeon Bay, 45 miles northeast of Green Bay, and enjoyed a high quality of life in his senior years. He had a green house and enjoyed music, books and games. When he died, his wife, Katherine Williams, whom he married in 1952, buried him from Hope United Church of Christ in Sturgeon Bay. Their seven children -- Suzanne, Michael, Mary Katherine, Peter, James, John and Lori Ana -- were spread out in all directions. One wonders where the Olski family started.
From: Edward Pinkowski (2008)