Obituaries

Evelyn Catherine Farino Olson died peacefully on the morning of Saturday, July 27, 2024, two weeks after her 99th birthday. She was born to Italian immigrants Margherita Compastra and Lorenzo Farino from Scala in the province of Salerno on the Amalfi coast. Evelyn was born and raised in Milwaukee’s Merrill Park neighborhood during the Great Depression and remembers getting a red wagon for Christmas which she used for collecting coke for fuel along with her brother Lawrence and sister Adeline. Evelyn went to St. Rose of Lima Catholic grade school and West Division High in Milwaukee before moving to Madison where she met her husband, the dashing ex WWII signalman, Clarence. She grew up in a big house full of music and food and dogs and colorful family and friends in a mostly Irish neighborhood, eventually marrying an Irishman. Evelyn would talk about how she would hide under the family piano with her brother and sister and howl while her dad, a nightclub owner and opera lover, would sing. But all would go silent except for the sweet sound of Italian opera which filled their home on Saturday nights.

Evelyn used to rush home from high school to play with her nieces Lucie and Maggie who she babysat for along with nephews Butch and Peter Lawrence. She and her older sister Eva would spend weekends at the USO on Wisconsin Avenue dancing to big band music which she listened to while coloring and crafting in the sunroom even days before she passed. Evelyn talked about all the boys lost in the war which made spending time with the sailors who trained at Great Lakes all the more special. She often acted as chaperone for her sister Eva’s dates with the handsome Joe Busalacchi who was said to bribe her with cigarettes and bananas to get more time alone with her big sister.

Evelyn took pride in her heritage, her country and her work as a dental technician. She often talked about using the new denture alloy vitallium which her youngest daughter intentionally mispronounced “vibranium” to get her going. She trained as a technician in the bustling city of Chicago all day and danced with soldiers on leave at night. She later worked along with the rest of her family at her father’s Madison restaurant Lorenzo’s, located on the UW campus. Evelyn enjoyed her time as a crossing guard nearby, helping kids from St. James and Longfellow cross the street on the corner of Mills and Mound.

She was introduced to her Irish sailor husband, Clarence Francis by her oldest sister Mary and brother-in-law Tom (Daley) who worked with Clarence at Oscar Mayer. Evelyn and Clarence were married on May 20, 1950 at St. James church and spent their lives together until Clarence passed in 2013. Evelyn was a longtime member of St. James where she volunteered and remained devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and had great respect for the work of the Dominican sisters, especially Sister Zita Simon.

Evelyn had many interests including singing, Irish dancing with the Shamrock Club, crafts, interior design, food, writing and a wee bit o’ gambling. She wrote a cookbook and won awards for her writing from the National Library of Poetry. Although she wrote a few stories about her family, her favorite was about Lucie , her sister Dora’s daughter, called, “The Princess Who Wouldn’t Wash.” Many of her poems and recipes were posted on her blog and Facebook page. All this and her house was as immaculate as her food was delicious.

Evelyn was proud of her daughters Kathy Olson Gunta (Joe) and Jeanna Olson and would say so to anyone who would listen. She also cared deeply for her grandsons Joe (Allison) Gunta, Christopher (Amy) Gunta, Andy Gunta and her great granddaughters Sophia, Charlotte and Sydney Gunta, whose photos adorned her rooms at Sage Meadow assisted living and memory care. The staff at Sage Meadow in Middleton showed her great kindness and patience and she in turn brightened their walls and windows with her artwork.

There are many family members who have also showed Evelyn kindness and patience such as her son-in law, Joe Gunta, who visited every weekend and her godson, Dick Daley, who visited her during her stay at Sage Meadows and too many more to list. Whether it was turning up for a birthday party in the parking lot below her balcony during COVID or remembering her when she recently turned 99, the Farinos and the Dempsey-Olsons have been there for her.

Evelyn is preceded in death by her husband Clarence, her grandson Andy, her parents and siblings, two infant brothers, Tony (who lived to be 101), Mary, Flossie, Dick, Dora, Eva, Lawrence and Adeline.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, August 9, 2024 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 5101 Schofield St., Monona, WI, with Fr. Chad Droessler presiding. A visitation will take place one hour prior to the Mass, from 10:00-11:00 a.m. at the church. Burial will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery.

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

2418 N. Sherman Avenue

608-249-8257