Janet Olsonawski, 76

Janet Olsonawski, 76, of Hallock, Minn., passed away at her home on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.
Janet Lynn Reed was born Feb. 5, 1950, in Chicago, Ill., to Wayne and Marian (Jenkins) Reed. At the age of 2, her family moved to Wisconsin where her father had been raised. They settled on a farm near Bloomington, Wisconsin and Janet started to milk cows at the age of 4. In her youth, she was active in 4-H and in church. Janet started country school in Blooming and when she reached the seventh grade she attended school in Westby, Wis., graduating in 1968. She went on to attend Humboldt Institute in Minneapolis, Minn., in June of 1968 to study airline ticketing. Janet met her future husband, Larry, at school. In 1970, her mother, Marian, passed away and Janet moved home to help her dad and care for her sisters who were still in school. While helping at home she worked at the hospital in Viroqua, Wis.
On July 9, 1971, Janet and Larry were united in marriage and moved to Hallock where they farmed by the Red River. Her favorite jobs were combining and roto beating sugar beets.
In 1974, they were blessed with a baby boy, Tad Nicholas Olsonawski. Janet and Larry also sponsored an exchange student from Switzerland in 1991. The couple moved into Hallock in 1997 and won the Farm Family of the Year award in 1998. Janet was an active member of the Hallock Lions Club and was district secretary for a year and club secretary for many years. She won the Helen Keller and Melvin Jones Awards for her active membership. Janet was secretary of St. Patrick’s Church for many years and was a Sunday school and confirmation teacher for many years.
Family members include: her husband of 54 years, Larry; son, Tad (Natasha); grandsons, Cooper, Briley, and Ryder; sisters, Vicky (James) Wieman, Sparta, Wis., Pat Evanson and companion, Wayne McCathen, Galesville, Wis., Julie (Paul) Clars, Cashton, Wis., Teresa (Mitch) Williams, LaFarge, Wis., Cora (Myron) Jothen, Westby, Wis.; a brother-in-law, Jeff Kopp, Menominie, Wis.; as well as nieces and nephews.
She was preceded by: her parents, Wayne and Marian; a brother, Dale Reed; and a sister, Carol Kopp.
Mass of Christian Burial was held Friday, March 6, 2026, at 11 a.m. in St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Hallock. Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Hallock. Visitation was held at Austin Funeral Chapel in Hallock on Thursday evening, March 5, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. with a prayer service at 6 p.m. Fr. Xavier Ilango, presiding; St. Patrick’s Choir and Sharlene Klegstad, organist. Honorary pall bearers will be Cooper, Briley and Ryder Olsonawski, Michael Olsonawski, Wayne McCathen and Chad Clark. Arrangements with Austin Chapel, Hallock.