Georgie Olson was a content 1950s housewife with four young children until the day her husband, Ron, came home from work one day and announced, “I just bought you a pizza place.”
Although unexpected, Georgie welcomed the adventure. As a kid growing up in Chicago, Georgie loved pizza. Under Georgie and Ron’s ownership, The Pizza Den in Madison, SD, became a popular hangout for General Beadle College students.
A year later, the owner of the Pheasant Restaurant in Brookings was ready to sell and reached out to the couple. They were only 30.
“We both did whatever needed to be done. But Ron and I were never afraid of hard work.”
Together, the Olsons transformed the Pheasant from a roadside cafe to the upscale restaurant and lounge it is today. Fifty-five years later, Georgie still owns it. Her grandson, Michael Johnson, is manager.
Following a long journey of restaurant entrepreneurship and adventurous travel, Ron’s health began to decline in 2010. Living with diabetes for more than four decades, his eyesight had deteriorated. He suffered several mini-strokes and became prone to falls. He depended on a long list of medications to make it through each day. Georgie was ever his health advocate and caregiver, but after several hospitalizations, there came a day when she, now in her 80s, could no longer provide the round-the-clock, professional care he needed.
“Ron had fallen again, and I was not able to help him up. I dialed 911. When the ambulance arrived, I recognized the first responder. I asked her how we knew each other and she said she was here to help the last time Ron fell,” Georgie recalled.
That’s when they decided Ron would move into The Neighborhoods at Brookview. As she watched the Neighborhood’s staff take care of Ron, Georgie said it felt like a weight had been lifted. “They really cared,” she explained. “It takes a lot of patience and they were so patient. They always went out of their way to make sure he was comfortable.”
As Georgie and Ron got to know the staff, they learned many were South Dakota State University nursing students or graduates. Ron received crucial care from not only SDSU nursing students, but an entire team of medical professionals, ranging from pharmacists to physical therapists to dieticians to hospital staff. Georgie valued this exceptional dedication and decided to honor everyone involved, starting with SDSU.
When Ron passed, Georgie worked with the SDSU Foundation to create the Georgiana and Ronald Olson Endowed Scholarship in Nursing. With Georgie’s $100,000 gift, the endowed scholarship will benefit the nursing program by distributing annual scholarships to nursing students in perpetuity. Recently, she also donated an additional $15,000 to purchase a Pediatric Auscultation Trainer (PAT). PATs are realistic training mannequins equipped with technology to replicate the human body, providing nursing students with a lifelike learning tool.
Through Georgie’s gifts, SDSU nursing graduates will receive critical learning experiences and continue to deliver the level of care that made a difference in Ron’s final years of life.
“These students did such a good job and were so kind; I wanted to do something,” Georgie said. “The idea of putting something in your will is fine. But I would rather do something while I am alive.”
