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Sally Jo Olson, 73

Sally Jo Olson, 73, of Hayden, Idaho, passed away in her home on May 31, 2019. Sally was born April 3, 1946, to James Forrest and Olive Loraine Olson. She grew up in Pullman, Wash., on her family’s farm.

In her younger years, Sally did the typical things as a farm kid, like taking care of the various animals and helping around the house and farm. Of all the animals they had, the turkeys were the ones that were the worst. They would chase Sally and her sister from the school bus to the house when they would get home from school.

Sally participated in 4-H Club, working on various projects from sewing to cooking and canning. She used her skills from 4-H to help her mom cook for the harvest crews and to sew her own clothes and beautiful gowns for school dances. She enjoyed going down to Panawawa to pick peaches for canning. Her father instilled in her the love and enjoyment of having a large garden, which she almost always had.

Sally enjoyed the dogs that her family had, starting with Susie, the boxer. She continued her love for dogs as she showed them for quite a few years and adopted them from the Humane Society throughout her life, even as of last year. She also had fun while tobogganing in the fields in the winter and eating the wheat and peas fresh out of the back of the truck during harvest. Other times of the year she played cards or board games and listened to radio shows.

She graduated from Pullman High School in 1964. On Sept. 10, 1965, she married Michael J. Hatley. They lived in Spokane, Wash., at that time, where she attended the Kelsey Baird Secretary School. Eventually they made their home on Wawawai Road, outside of Pullman, across the road from where she grew up. They raised two daughters; they later divorced in 1979.

She worked at Washington State University, in Holland Library, and then as the graduate secretary of the English department, until 1983. She then moved to Illinois, where she met and married Carl Anthony Matherson. In 1992, she moved back to what she called “God’s Country” and settled in Hayden, Idaho. There she worked at Century Publishing, Western Garnet, and for 15 years, at Edward Jones, where she finally retired on her 70th birthday. Throughout her life she bowled, played softball and coached Little League. She continued her interests in cooking, canning, sewing and vegetable gardening. She had the most amazing rose gardens.

Sally Jo was considered the matriarch of the family. She had a love for life and wisdom beyond her years. She loved making people smile and her laugh was infectious. She loved her husband and daughters beyond words. She was an amazing wife, mother, mother-in-law, daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

Sally is survived by her husband, Carl Anthony Matherson; two daughters, Dawn (Rustie) Irby of Coeur d’Alene and Stacy (Tadd) Davis of Colfax, Wash.; two sons, Brian (Brittany) Matherson of Lena, Ill. and Daniel (Mirella) Matherson of Buckeye, Ariz.; her sister, Janet (Bill) Sommers of Bayview, Idaho; two nieces, Jayme and Jeni; 11 grandchildren: Jesse, James, Kyle, Austin, Russell, Samuel, Payton, Evan, Greyson, Carlos and Ivan; and four great-grandchildren: Kyleigh, Ayden, Hunter and Ridge. She was preceded in death by her parents and her baby boy, Hatley.

Sally’s memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 15, 2019, at English Funeral Chapel, 1133 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Kootenai Humane Society, P.O. Box 1005, Hayden, ID 83835, or online at http://www.kootenaihumanesociety.com.