Olga Margaret Kozacek passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning of July 25th at her residence in Vancouver, WA. She moved there in June 2018 with her husband Edward to be close to their immediate family. Ed preceded her in death last September. They had celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary just last year. Olga’s cause of death was heart failure, it’s thought due to the loss of the love of her life and husband.
Olga was born on July 7, 1925 in Tyndall, SD to George and Mary Janosik Brocko. The family later moved to Idaho and took up farming. Both her parents, as well as Edwards parents, were immigrants from Czechoslovakia and spoke the language fluently. Olga met Ed while he was stationed in Boise, ID with the Army Air Corp. They married in 1945 and moved to Portland where Ed trained as a mechanic. Later they moved to Boise, then in the early 50’s they moved to Sparks where they spent their time working, traveling and raising two boys. Because they spoke Czech, they were invited to be hosts in the 1964 Olympics at Squaw Valley for the CZ, Russians, and Polish teams.
Olga spent 40+ years of her life in Sparks working for John Ascuaga’s Nugget, where she became the celebrated lunch hostess at Trader Dicks. Later Olga would be assigned special jobs like opening one of the first food stands for the Nugget at the very first Reno Air races at Stead and later organized parties for special large events. Olga and John stayed in contact until his last call to her last year before his death. Olga loved to volunteer and did so at the Reno Senior center and then the Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center before it moved to its new location. She was also busy being grandma to her closest grandchildren, Ginger and Makelle, who spent countless hours with her and Ed making their lives fulfilled.
Olga was preceded in death by her younger sister Mary Ann, her younger son Dennis, and Edward. She leaves behind an older son, Donald, five grandchildren, Darin, Kevin, Kyler, Carter, and Madison, as well as 5 great grandchildren, Ginger, Makelle, Hunter, Katarina, Flynn, and 2 others due soon.
A celebration of life for both Olga and Ed will be conducted at a later date. She was dearly loved by her family, friends and those with whom she had contact.
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