Douglas Wayne Olson

Douglas Wayne Olson, 96 passed away peacefully from this earth Thursday October 10, 2024 in Logan, Utah. He was born and raised in Millville, Utah on March 11, 1928, to Florence Christina Anderson and Newel Charles Olson. There were 6 children in his family. He grew up on the east side of main street on 200 north. He lived by the only street light in town so everyone was always gathered there to play. One of his favorite memories growing up at home was having his grandma and aunt living with them. His grandma was from Sweden and came to the states when she was 18. He remembers that they did not have TV and did not even have a radio until he was 12. For entertainment he remembers his grandma would sing Swedish songs and tell stories. He loved it! 

As a young child, he worked hard, but also got to play hard. He had many great friends that he went to church activities and scouts with. As far as school went, he actually enjoyed it. One of his favorite things to study was bookkeeping. In high school, he played the snare drums and played tennis. He didn't have much time for hobbies, as soon as school was out for the day, he was heading home to work on the farms. 

When he was just 15 years old he started to work at Royal Bakery in Logan, UT. He also worked at the bike shop next door to the bakery for a short time. 

His first time ever leaving Cache Valley was when he left for the army. At 17 years old, He was sworn in at Fort Douglas. He left there and was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington for training. He also spent some time doing training in Washington DC for what he had enlisted for. A specialist in carpentry. He did this training at fort Belvoir. He loved his time out there and got to go tour and see sights in Washington DC. After all the training, he left for Seattle to board the ship. His older brother Alden was drafted 2 years before grandpa and happened to be coming home from Guam and they got to see each other. It was such a neat experience for him. He ended up being put and enlisted to the kitchen. Which he said turned out to not be a bad gig at all! When he left for South Korea in 1946, They were called the occupation troops. The North and the South would light against each other. World war 2 had just ended. The Japanese had reigned over South Korea for 40 years. THey were there to help them get back their independence. He was in Incheon or Jenson Island off the coast of South Korea. There were 400 men and the officers. The cooks always got the best! He was the designated baker. He remembers Thanksgiving on the ship one year well. He and the other kitchen staff cooked 35 turkeys, over 40 pies, and plenty of other stuff. He says he did not sleep for 3 days. On his off time, they would play cards on the ship deck and watch the flying fish in the ocean. He was part of the 24th Core battalion, 3rd medium engineer core. In the quansin hut, the kitchen was in the front of the barracks where they slept was in the back. He said the army did him good! He went in at 135 pounds and when he came home, he was 185! He was honorably discharged from the US army in August of 1947. 

Shortly after returning home, He began working at Royal bakery again. He reconnected with a girl from school and introduced him to his sweet first wife, Ranee Leishman. He and Ranee dated for 6 months and married September 1, 1948. They were later sealed in the Logan, Utah temple. During their marriage, they were blessed with four children. Wayne, DelRoy, Bradley, and Teresa. They began their marriage living in Millville, a short time in Logan, and then purchased their first home in Nibley, Utah. Grandpa really loved the ward, and home. He faithfully served in many callings. He and Ranee were married for 27 years before she passed away on March 12, 1975. He worked at Western auto in Logan for several years, Then he began his career at Tri Millers/EA Millers and was there until retiring after 32 years. 

After Ranee passed away, He decided to start attending the LDS church dances. That is where he met his other love, Doris Jones, in June of 1975. They dated for a few short months and married November 20, 1975. In the spring of 1976. They had a beautiful life together full of spending time with each other and cherishing every moment. He retired a few years before Doris, and made the most of retirement life. He was always keeping busy. Fishing with his Providence buddies, building things in his garage, or relaxing with his can of diet mountain dew. He loved listening to his little police scanner, reading the paper, a good old western, watching the latest baseball and jazz game. They loved spending time in their yard and making their surroundings beautiful. They spent many hours playing cards together in the gazebo he built for them, building and maintaining their pond, flower beds, garden, etc. After they both retired in the early 1990’s, they decided to spend 6 months of the year in sunny St George. They did this for over 20 years. Making many lifelong friends. When they would come back in the spring, all of their many wonderful friends here in Cache Valley were part of the good sam's club camping group and would spend many summer nights camping up black smith fork canyon with lots of games of 21, 4 kings in a corner, and just enjoying being together. 

They resided at their Providence home until the home and property was too much to take care of. They moved to a retirement community in Logan UT December of 2015 and he remained there until this past spring. When Doris passed away, His incredibly loving son in law, Dennis was there daily. Taking him to doctor appointments, cleaning, cooking, getting groceries, and just a friend for him to talk to. What a beautiful act of love. A big thank you to Dennis. About 6 months ago, he did feel it was time to move on, and became a resident at Legacy house of Logan. What a blessing that was. He really enjoyed his time there talking with friends, his favorite cook, (Shauna) and knowing there were people there to help him at any time. Thank you so much to everyone at Legacy house. 

He is survived by his children, Wayne (Joan) Olson of Hyrum, UT DelRoy(Rebecca) Olson of Wellsville, and Teresa (Zane) Bassett of Wellsville. Also his loving stepchildren Dennis (Jan) Jones of Smithfield, UT and Shellee (Kenneth) Thigpen of Providence, UT. He is preceded in death by his two loving companions, Ranee Leishman and Doris Bingham Jones, his son Bradley Olson, Step daughter DeeAnn Gardner, (Roger Gardner) and six grandchildren. 

What a wonderful life he lived. There wasn't a day he did not get dressed, and ready for a friend. He always made you feel welcome and loved. Even if it had been a while since you last had seen him, he was just thankful you came. Up until the day of his passing, he was still sharp as a tack. We are so grateful for the life you lead, and the example you were to all. Thank you! Bye for now!