Olga Tachenko

Funeral Services for Olga Tachenko, 88, of Killdeer are 2:00 p.m. Thursday, August 30, 2007 at the St. John?s Lutheran Church, Killdeer. Burial will be in the Grassy Butte Seventh Day Adventist Cemetery. Olga passed away on Friday, August 17, 2007 at the By The Lake Assisted Living Center in Hayden, ID. Olga was born June 6, 1919 on her parents farm 10 miles north of South Heart, ND. She was the daughter of Martin and Mary (Palaniuk) Gulka. Olga attended New Castle Country School along with her younger brother Mitchell. When it was time for high school she attended Model High at Dickinson State Teachers College while living at Stickney Hall. During this time Olga became part of a Ukrainian Dance group performing around the state. In 1940 she went to Walla Walla, Washington to work for several families and made lifelong friends. On November 16, 1941 at the age of 22 she married Matt Tachenko. They were married less than one month when Dec. 7 brought the USA in World War II. In l942 they moved to a farm 7 miles west of Killdeer where they resided until recent years. Together Olga and Matt ranched and farmed while raising their family. They had 3 children Paul, Darleen, and Karen. Olga worked very hard as a wife and mother on the farm, raising a huge garden, milking cows, cooking and baking without any of the modern conveniences. She made the best dill pickles that were sought after at family and church potlucks. She is lovingly remembered for all the wonderful meals, fruit pies and molasses cakes she made. She was way ahead of her time in healthful cooking and nutrition. Growing up in the Depression era she was not one to waste anything. She was an excellent seamstress teaching her daughters how to sew?greatly expanding their wardrobes. Olga loved nature of all kinds especially the study of birds. She was an uncomplaining compassionate and quiet woman. She was an active member of the Grassy Butte SDA Church and held many church offices through the years. She was a member of the church?s Dorcas Society (community services). She was also a member of the Killdeer Mountain Homemaker?s Society. Olga took pride in her Ukrainian heritage and loved seeing and visiting her relatives. She also enjoyed travel with Matt and in 1977 they, along with a group of North Dakota farmers and ranchers, traveled to the Orient including Thailand where their daughter Karen was spending a year as a student missionary. In addition to frequent trips to California to visit their daughters they also visited Mexico, and many other states. They traveled almost annually to the hot springs at Bozeman, Mont. Olga was preceded in death by her son Paul who drowned at age 9, and by her parents. She is survived by her husband of 65 years Matt Tachenko, her daughters Karen (Jon) Carstens of Hayden, Idaho, Darleen Stout of Redlands, CA, her brother Mitchell Gulka of Yucaipa, CA and four grandsons Trevor and Clayton Carstens of Hayden, Idaho, Justin Stout of Olympic Valley, CA, Burke Stout, Redlands, CA and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to “The Quiet Hour” at PO Box 3000, Redlands, CA 92373 or www.thequiethour.org.


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Burial Date: August 30, 2007