Darel Olson

Darel E. Olson, 61, a resident of Port Orchard died Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at the family home of natural causes. He was born to Earle and Eve (Ranta) Olson on November 18, 1946 in Anacortes, Washington and graduated from Anacortes High School in 1965 and was baptized in the Anacortes Church of Christ. He served in the United States Navy as an E-4 from 1966 to 1972 doing two tours in Vietnam on board the USS Kitty Hawk and USS White Plains as a Mail Courier/Mail Clerk.  He was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service and Vietnam Campaign Medals. Darel survived the Tet invasion in DaNang when the chopper he was in was directed to land during the Tet offensive. He met Jeanie Turner while stationed at Chase Field in Beeville, Texas and they were later married in Victoria, Texas. Darel worked for the US Postal service for 3 years in Seattle and 10 years in Victoria, Texas. During this time he took some college courses and enjoyed fishing and playing baseball. He later returned to the Northwest residing in Port Orchard and was employed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Shop 11 Ship Fitters. He went from black iron to nuclear and was chosen to operate the Water Jet (a steel cutting apparatus).He then went to design until his retirement in 1994. He married Shirley Hansen-Smith of Port Orchard on March 3, 1985 in Bremerton. In later years he enjoyed  cooking and barbecuing, using  his own special recipes and sharing his tasty dishes with friends and neighbors. Darel had resided in Port Orchard for over 25 years. He is survived by his loving wife Shirley; son Brandon Olson (Regina Greene) of Medina, TX; daughters Kimberly Webb (Jimmy) of The Woodlands, TX and Angelique Smith of Port Orchard; brother Dean Olson (Jeanette) of Bremerton; sister Donna (Jim) Minahan of Kirkland; 2 grandsons Cody and Blake Webb of The Woodlands, TX; several nieces and nephews. Darel had many friends through the years that planted themselves in his heart, he would talk about them often.  Some are gone, some he lost contact with, some remain.  Here are some (not all) that kept close, sharing many laughs, conversation, and memories:  Stan Leinen, David Zemple, Zach McClellen, Vernon Croy, George Bowers, Ervin Banks, Lenny Bert, Dwayne Stewart and The Palm Family. Graveside service under the direction of Rill’s Life Tribute Center will be at Knights of Pythias Cemetery in Port Orchard on Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 3:00 pm. Pastor Melvin Byrd of the Port Orchard Church of Christ will be officiating.