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In memory of

Thor Albert Olmanson

Cass Lake, MN, USA

January 5, 1959 - December 4, 2020

Jan 5, 1959 - Dec 4, 2020

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Thor Albert Olmanson passed away in Cass Lake Minnesota on December 4, 2020, after a battle with esophageal cancer. Having worked in the field for over forty years, Thor was well-known in the archaeological community—not only in the state of Minnesota, but also in places such as Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, and Georgia. His first experience in the field of archaeology was in 1976, when he assisted with the reconstruction of a ca. 1500s Hidatsa Indian farming village under the direction of Professor Michael Scullin. He began his professional career in 1978 working for Impact Services as a Field Archaeologist. He worked for a wide variety of organizations and agencies throughout his career, including the Nicollet County Historical Society, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Wyoming Office of State Archaeology, the Bureau of Land Management, and a variety of private archaeological consulting firms. Most recently, he served as Program Director for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Heritage Sites Program (LLHSP), where he remained for nearly 17 years.

The second of six children, Thor was born on January 5, 1959, to Myron “Dr. Don” and Barbara Fritsche Olmanson of St. Peter, Minnesota. The family led an adventurous life, traveling to far-away places such as Burma, where his father—a physician—worked with the famous Dr. Seagrave, also known as the Burma Surgeon, when he was a small child. The family traveled to countless destinations around the world, providing the children with a diverse world view and understanding of different cultures and landscapes. He carried a love for travel into adulthood. Throughout his life, he traveled to such places as the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Kenya, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Colombia, Mexico, and Belize.

Thor completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental Ecology with an emphasis in Human Ecology at Gustavus Adolphus College in 1981. He received his MS in Multidisciplinary Studies/Anthropology at Minnesota State University at Mankato in 2000, conducting his thesis research in Belize, where he studied splinter group migration patterns among Hutterites there.
After receiving his Master’s Degree, he worked in Indiana, Kentucky, Idaho, and Montana before returning to Minnesota in 2004 to work for LLHSP. He would remain there until his death. During his tenure there, he oversaw the survey of over 113,000 acres, the documentation of over 1,200 sites, and the excavation of dozens of sites. Of special significance to Thor was the Walker Hill Site, an early hilltop site discovered by LLHSP in 2005. While controversial, it gained attention at both the local and national level, along with the expected criticism and skepticism. In 2007, a complete diminutive point made of agate discovered at the site demonstrated that it was indeed cultural and not the result of natural geological processes. In 2019, he was able to return to the site and obtain OSL samples, which confirmed the suspected age of the site.

Thor became an icon of professionalism and expertise within the field of archaeology. The work he conducted and oversaw provided extensive information on the history and prehistory of Minnesota and the Headwaters Region in particular. He was well-respected, not only for his contributions to the field, but for his disarming nature and friendly personality.

Thor had many passions and talents beyond his professional career. He was very artistic, making leather goods and beautiful jewelry from stone, metal, antler, fossils, and bone. He also loved the outdoors, nature walks, and his pets. He shared these passions with his beloved wife, Jill Stoffregen, with whom he shared a lifelong love. While their early lives had taken different directions, they were able to reconnect, fulfilling each other’s lives in a way that nothing else could. He was a close confidant to his stepchildren, Sophie Draper and Robert Draper, and he shared many wonderful experiences with them as well as providing direction and guidance in their lives. In addition to his wife and stepchildren, Thor leaves behind his mother Barbara Fritsche Olmanson, siblings: Eric (Andrea) Olmanson, Schelli (Ambrose) McCabe, Trudi (ElI Hoehn) Olmanson, Leif (Kris) Olmanson, Lori (Harold) Swick, nieces & nephews: Garth Olmanson, Karl Olmanson, Hypatia Olmanson, Elsie Olmanson, Marty (Mary) McCabe, Ryan McCabe, Collin McCabe, Keegan McCabe, Anders Olmanson, Britta (Nick) Holmin, Bjorn (Olivia) Olmanson, Brandon (Morgan) Swick, Josh Swick. Aunt Joanne Pederson and Uncle Louis Fritsche, numerous great nieces & nephews, cousins and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his father Myron Donald Olmanson “Dr. Don”.

Thor passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his family and showered with love and kindness. Rest gently, Thor. We shall all miss you.

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