Obituary for Larry Gerald Olk

Larry Gerald Olk, 80, passed away on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.

Larry was born on July 5, 1942, in Hampton, Iowa to Ike and Dagmar Olk.  Larry graduated from Sheffield-Chapin Community High School in 1961 after which he attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, graduating in 1965 with degrees in business and economics.  While attending Wartburg, Larry met the woman that he would spend his life with, Emma Easton.  They were married in Strawberry Point, Iowa in 1964.  To this marriage of 58 great years, came the birth of their children, Kathy, and Kris.

After graduating from college, Larry began a career with the Rath Packing Company in Waterloo, Iowa. Within a short time, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, 1966-1968, during which he also spent time in Vietnam.  As with many veterans of Vietnam, Larry was left with experiences that would build him up, as well as haunt him for the remainder of his life.

After being discharged from the Army, Larry returned to The Rath Packing Corporation.  Beginning in 1975, Larry went to work for Hormel Foods, where he would serve out the remainder of his career, retiring in 2005 (after traveling too many air miles to calculate).  During his career, Larry built a wealth of good friendships that would last throughout his days.

After retiring from Hormel, Larry and Emma moved to Sheffield, where he was able to spend time giving back to the community he grew up in, becoming active in the Democratic Party, the Lion’s Club, the American Legion, and the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus, to name a few.  He was also afforded more time to spend on a hobby he truly loved; woodworking.  Through his work with several veteran’s groups, Larry would begin to find peace and resolution to his time in Vietnam.  This came through working with many groups as an advocate for veteran’s causes, as well as speaking about his and other veteran’s experiences.  Larry was able to address several groups such as middle, high school and college age students, veteran groups, and community leaders. One talk, in particular, was of great importance to him and was titled, ‘The Trailing Edge of War’.  Many of these talks were done while battling through health issues which made it difficult for him to speak.  He was a wonderful and generous husband, father, and grandfather. His greatest devotion was to his family, particularly his grandchildren, for whom he felt enormous pride and love.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother (Ike and Dagmar Olk), his brother, Norman Olk, sisters Donna Joens, Deloris Meyer and Iva Griep, brothers-in-law Harold Meyer and Stan Griep and son-in-law John Shirk.  

Larry is survived by his wife, Emma Olk of Sheffield, IA, his daughter Kathy (Mark) Shirk Coen (Lakeville, MN), Kris (Kari) Olk (Burnsville, MN), and grandchildren; Jacob, Nathan and Sydney Shirk and Grady and Cameron Olk, also his sister, Barb (Jim) Long (Henderson, NV), sister-in-law, Eleanor Olk (Sheffield, IA), brother-in-law, David Joens (Cedar Falls, IA) as well as many nieces and nephews.

Larry’s family would like to thank the staff at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center for the help and kindness in the last several weeks…their compassion and care gave Larry a true feeling of comfort.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at Zion-St. John Lutheran Church in Sheffield, Iowa, with visitation one hour prior to the service.  Honorary pallbearers are Larry’s grandchildren; Jacob, Nathan, and Sydney Shirk and Grady and Cameron Olk.   A light lunch will be served immediately after the service.  Interment at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, Iowa will be held at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, memorials offered will be given to various organizations that serve veterans.