Billings Gazette Billings, MT 4 Sep 2007 LAUREL - With grace and courage, LaVera Rose Olson Ehrlick, 78, won her five-year battle with Alzheimer's disease and went to her eternal home to be with family, friends and her savior on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007. A woman who treasured family above all else, she had been surrounded by her family in her final days. She was born on May 21, 1929, in Windsor, N.D., one of 11 children born to Oscar and Josephine (Goodroad) Olson. She moved to Huntley Project when she was 13. The next year, she met her lifetime companion, Albert Ehrlick at a dance and she married him a year later. LaVera married Albert on her mother's birthday, Oct. 14, 1944. They lived in Laurel, where Albert built the family home, room by room, paycheck to paycheck, over the course of six years. She loved to travel and she fulfilled her dreams of seeing the world. She visited the Panama Canal, cruised to Alaska, took in the colors of New England in the fall, saw Hawaii with her family, enjoyed the shows of Branson, Mo., and crisscrossed the country on many bus tours. She enjoyed reading and listening to music. She was an avid fan of Lawrence Welk and rarely missed a Saturday night watching his television program. In her later years, she saw his orchestra and many members of the show, including Myron Floren and the Lennon Sisters, in person. Above all, her family was the center of her life. She kept track of all family - no matter how far extended - and the only home she ever lived in as an adult was always a place of love, laughter and very good cooking. LaVera is survived by her husband, Albert; children Linda (Jerry) Broderson, Darrell (Sally) Ehrlick and Guy (Teresa) Ehrlick; six grandchildren, Daron Faught, Dalayna Faught, Darrell (Angie) Ehrlick, Melannie (Jake) Nienaber, Jacob Ehrlick and Nathan Ehrlick; one brother, Donald Olson; three sisters, Esther Knaub, Marjorie Yakel and Bertha Craven; one aunt, Lydia Goodroad; and many special nieces and nephews. She would have also been thrilled to know she would be a great-grandmother in the next few months. She is preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Clarence, Albert and Martin; sisters, Dorothy Yakel, Elenora Wirtanen and Lucille Schwartzkopf. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, at the First Congregational Church, 506 S. Fifth, Laurel. Visitation for family and friends will be one hour before the service at the church. Interment will be in the Laurel Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Big Sky Hospice, Alzheimer Association - Montana Chapter or a charity of choice. LaVera's family would like to thank Big Sky Hospice for the compassionate care in the final days of her life. Smith Funeral Chapel-Laurel is in charge of the arrangements. Published in the Billings Gazette on 9/4/2007.