Helping others was minister's life motto

By Warren King
Seattle Times staff reporter

	The Rev. Olin Nordsletten
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If you attended Prince of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church back when the Rev. Olin "Ole" Nordsletten was pastor, you wouldn't have heard the most conventional of sermons.

The message of the day would have been a wonderful mix of church teachings; anecdotes about people in the congregation, followed by applause; plenty of humor; and practical advice about leading a Christian life.

"He was the supreme people-person. People loved the guy," said longtime church member and friend Marv Harshman, retired University of Washington basketball coach. "He made everyone feel very important."

The Rev. Nordsletten died at the age of 83 on Feb. 13 after a lengthy illness. He was pastor of Prince of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church for 32 years, retiring in 1987. A memorial celebration of his life will be held March 13 at 11 a.m. at the church, 14514 20th Ave. N.E., Shoreline.

A native of Irene, S.D., the Rev. Nordsletten was the son of a Lutheran minister and grew up mostly in two Iowa towns, Jewell and Wallingford. He first came to the Northwest as a teenager to work on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska and then returned to fishing each summer to earn his way through Augsburg College and Northwestern Lutheran Seminary in Minneapolis. Hard work at sea, which continued during many summer months after he became a minister, helped him relate to many different people throughout his career, said his wife of 62 years, Arlett.

After serving 3½ years as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, Wis., the Rev. Nordsletten became pastor of Prince of Peace Church in 1955. The church, then only 2 years old, had 100 members and was meeting in Thomas Hunt Morgan Junior High School. Within 10 years, two church buildings had been constructed and the congregation numbered about 1,000.

"He was very determined ... and a little unorthodox in the way he did things," said his longtime friend and lay minister Erling Holand. "He had us all go out and knock on doors and invite people to the church. It just started growing from there."

A sign outside the church proclaimed its motto: "Pray, but swing the hammer." It meant that prayer was important, but so was action to help others. The Rev. Nordsletten lived the motto throughout his life.

When he learned of someone in need of a job or housing or money to keep a family together, he often gave them money from his own pocket, then appealed to his congregation to help in any way they could.

When he learned of an increasing number of high-school dropouts in the early 1970s, he established the first special program for them — Second Mile School — in the church fellowship hall. The Shoreline and Seattle school districts later took over the program.

"He would sit and really talk to these kids about their possibilities if they would settle down and get their schooling ... and he didn't beat around the bush about it," said Holand, a retired Shoreline school principal and administrator.

With his knack for marshaling people to help others, he also worked with King County officials to establish the Paramount House low-income apartments for the elderly and disabled. He also wrote and produced Christmas plays, performed by young people both at the church and on local television.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Sheryll Wyman, of Copper Mountain, Colo.; Anita Lester, of Seattle; Kathy Johnsen, of Kirkland, and Heidi Braund, of Kenmore; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; a brother, Kenneth, of Seattle; a sister, Ruth Lee, of Viroqua, Wis.; and a sister-in-law, Solveig Nordsletten, of Detroit Lakes, Minn.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Prince of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Shoreline, or Northlake Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 82603, Kenmore, WA 98028.

Warren King: 206-464-2247 or wking@seattletimes.com

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