Dad was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on May 17, 1924 to Jules and Elizabeth Olson and passed away, after a brief illness on November 3, 2020.
Dad’s early years were spent on the homestead outside of Eston, Saskatchewan with his parents and brothers Elburn (Ollie) and Austin. His sister Karen passed away at 6 months old. Dad had many stories of his long walks to school from the homestead and their life there. His family packed up and moved to Fruitvale BC when Dad was a young teenager. The story of their trip in an old car, which broke down and the kindness of strangers was another favourite. To the upset of his parents, at 16, Dad lied about his age and joined the army to go overseas during WWII after both his older brothers had been shipped off. Dad had many stories about the war, never the bad parts, just stories of the good times he had and riding his motorcycle as a dispatcher through Holland and Germany.
He returned to Fruitvale after the war and worked at various jobs, ending up running a cafe in Salmo where he met Mom (Anne Pellegrini). They were married in 1950 and had 6 children in 8 years. Things were tough financially in the 50s and Dad started work as an iron worker on the Waneta Dam. During his career he worked on every major hydro electric project in BC, the construction of pulp mills, telephone towers, etc. and rose to superintendent of several projects. In the early 50s, he also went up North, above the Arctic circle, and was superintendent on the DEW line for 2 years. Dad brought home parkas and a polar bear rug and many amazing stories. We had a small farm on Columbia gardens road and Dad would come home with various animals over the years. This kept us kids busy and taught us a lot. Mom was a wonderful cook, but Dad’s hotcakes for breakfast and his many soups are fondly remembered. Mom and Dad always had company, we had older bachelors for Sunday dinners, Dad’s work mates and families for parties, our house was always full.
Mom passed away suddenly in 1986 and after a couple years, Dad moved to Vancouver Island and resided there for several years. Dad returned to the Beaver Valley in 2011 to be closer to us. We were lucky to have Dad close to us for the past nine years and enjoyed many family barbecues, trips to the casinos and lunches out. Dad had an amazing brain and was sharp as a tack until the end. Dad has left behind his six children, many grandchildren and great grand children. He made the world a better place.
We wish to express our heartfelt and sincere appreciation to Drs Baxter, Garrett and Fisher and all the nurses, care aids and Social Worker on the 3rd floor of KBRH who so compassionately helped Dad in his last days. The care they gave him was remarkable.
Al Grywacheski of Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services™ has been entrusted with arrangements.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence.
Dad will always be in our hearts, along with his many stories. We will remember him.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Kenneth William Olson November 3rd 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Trail, Province: Colombie britanique