Volunteer Supports Grief-Stricken Minnesotans

When Gayle Brown Olson sits with people who are grieving, she draws on her own memories.

Olson’s husband and stepson were killed in a hunting accident in 1996 — a devastating loss that informed her counseling as a licensed clinical social worker. “Our society is not always helpful to people in grief,” she says. “But I know something of the journey.”

Gayle Brown Olson

Now retired, Olson, 74, continues to comfort the grieving as a volunteer at Bri’s Lodge, a nonprofit in Waite Park that helps people dealing with the deaths of loved ones. AARP Minnesota recognized Olson with the 2025 Andrus Award for Community Service, the organization’s top state-level honor for volunteers.

Tami Kruzel, the founder of Bri’s Lodge, saw Olson for therapy for years after the death of her 18-year-old daughter, BriAnna, in 2013. “Being able to connect with someone who understood and felt my pain made a complete difference in my life,” Kruzel says.

Olson says volunteering with Bri’s Lodge, which is located near St. Cloud about 70 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, was a natural fit after she retired in 2021. “I’m not really the type to play golf or do a lot of traveling, and I wanted to continue to do deeply meaningful work,” she notes.

Olson exemplifies what the Andrus Award is all about, says Courtney Burton, AARP Minnesota’s volunteer state president. She shows that ordinary people can do extraordinary things and make a difference, Burton says.

Olson has taken a leadership role at Bri’s Lodge, and she spends a full afternoon every week as a grief companion.

“It’s hard to know how to deal with your own uncomfortable feelings about the topic and also to support your friend,” she says. “Sometimes, it’s just saying, ‘I can’t quite understand what you’re going through, but I know it’s got to be really hard.... I’m here to listen.’ ”