Isabel Pollard Oleson

BIDDEFORD POOL – Isabel Pollard Oleson, 96, passed away peacefully at Gosnell Memorial Hospice in Scarborough, Maine, on July 29, 2022, after a brief illness. Isabel was born on Aug. 2, 1925, in Lowell, Mass., as the only child of Arthur and Lydia Pollard.

Isabel’s childhood was all about diners. In 1927 her father’s family built the Palace Diner in Lowell, Mass., and shipped it to Biddeford, where Uncle Louis Lachance ran it for 30-plus years where it remains today. For much of her childhood her father owned the Arsenal Diner in Watertown, Mass., and since her school and home were close, the Arsenal Diner was where she frequently had lunch and dinner and was where she received her first bicycle.

In 1945, Isabel graduated from Lasell Jr. College and then four years later, in 1949, met and married the love of her life, William D. Oleson of Framingham, Mass. Over the course of their devoted 70-year marriage, they witnessed their three sons get married, David to Susan Ward, Jim to Norann Noon, and Peter to France Morin, the birth of five grandchildren, Robert, Alaina, Samantha, Isabelle, and Madison, and welcomed one great-grandchild, Henry William Wickham. Isabel loved being a part of the Biddeford Pool community and will always be remembered as an amazing mother, seamstress, and bridge player who made many friends pursuing those activities. Her family would like to thank the staff at Atria Kennebunk, SMHC Biddeford and Gosnell in Scarborough for their wonderful care, as well as Beth Baskin, Ada Goff, and Ann Hastings for their generous friendship to Isabel over the years. Funeral arrangements will be through Dennett, Craig, and Pate (365 Main St., Saco) where calling hours will be held Saturday August 13, at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Isabel’s memory to Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, Scarborough,

ME 04074.


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