This story was in yesterdays Minneapolis Star Tribune and I thought you might all enjoy it.

Doug Grow: Two Owatonna doctors linked through life and in death
It turns out that the two old docs never really were apart.

By Doug Grow, Star Tribune


It turns out that the two old docs never really were apart.
Even after Dr. Albert (Aubie) Olson died three months ago, Dr. Franklin Anderson had dreams about his lifelong pal and fellow physician.

"One time I woke him up," Sophie Anderson said about her husband, "and he said, 'Oh, I wished you wouldn't have done that. Aubie and I were just going someplace.' "

Another night, Anderson wished his wife had awakened him.

"I dreamed I was delivering all of these babies as fast as I could and I couldn't find Aubie," Anderson told her.

A year ago, I had the opportunity to meet these two extraordinary men with the shared lives.

Anderson and Olson were born in 1917 and grew up only a few blocks from each other in Cloquet. They were confirmed in the Lutheran Church together. They were Eagle Scouts together. They shared a room in a boarding house when they were in med school together. They both served as doctors in World War II. Both married nurses.

After Olson took over a clinic in Owatonna shortly after the war, Anderson joined him in 1948. The Andersons built a home next door to the Olsons. There were five children in each family. Sophie Anderson and Dorothy Olson became "like sisters," Dorothy said. The families were so blended that some of the kids took to calling themselves Anderson-Olson. They shared a lake home.

For a month, the two old docs ended up in the same room in a nursing home. Decades earlier, that home had been started by Anderson and directed by Olson.

Now, both are gone.

Olson died in October, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Anderson died at his home early Friday. He was 89 years old. His body was battered by heart and back problems, but his mind still was sharp.

"We could still play Scrabble," said Sophie. "He beat me badly the last game we played. That was Thursday."

Memorial services for Anderson will be held at 11 a.m. today at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna. All of the surviving Anderson-Olson kids, now grown of course, will be there.

The church is graced by a beautiful stained-glass window depicting Luke, the disciple who studied Greek medical arts. The two docs donated that window.

There are many other signs in Owatonna of the good deeds of the two. For example, an Anderson-Olson scholarship program helps young people in the area pursue medical careers.

Anderson will be buried in an adjoining cemetery in Owatonna. Even in death, they are linked.

Sophie Anderson spoke of how she and her children had so many questions to deal with from the funeral director in the last few days. The Andersons, she said, often answered the questions with a question of their own.

"How'd the Olsons do it?"

Thanks Dave for the story, really enjoyed it. I pity you from what I have seen from the temps up in your area. Friends and I were to go snowmobiling in Newberry, Michigan on week of January 20, but before that week, there was no snow, so we cancelled the trip. But it sure has made up for it in the last couple of weeks. I do not blame you for wanting to come south. lol
Good luck and best wishes and keep WARM. Regards, SKY