08/10/2026
Leaning - and Learning - into Retirement
Retirement usually brings rest and relaxation to a person’s life. To Janelle Olson, retirement has, unexpectedly, brought fresh ideas, new connections, and new opportunities to learn. Even though she’s been legally blind since she was a child, retirement brought her to North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind to gain new information and skills.
The youngest of four daughters, Janelle and her sisters – twins Karlyn and Kathy and middle sister Loris – grew up on a farm near Williston, ND. When Kathy was 8 years old, she started having vision issues and was diagnosed with Cone Rod Dystrophy, which is a deterioration of the cones in the retina. Then, when Loris was 8, she, too, began experiencing sight loss. Finally, at the same age, Janelle was also given the diagnosis. Three of the four daughters have it, but instead of any of them considering themselves unlucky, they were all grateful to have had good vision until the age of 8 – and each other. “We had our own built-in support group with our sisters,” Janelle says. As they’ve gotten older, “the deterioration continues. I can tell when I go someplace and realize that the last time I was there, I saw it better.”
Read the full article on our website: https://www.ndvisionservices.com/news/leaning-and-learning-retirement
