Lawrence O. Olson

Lawrence O. Olson, also known as Larry and, to some, “Doc”, passed away peacefully in his sleep at Harrison Hospital on February 11, 2016. He was born in Landa, North Dakota, on March 16, 1919, the same year Woodrow Wilson signed the peace treaty ending WW I. He and his brother, Alex (Buster) Olson, who preceded him in death, were raised by his mother after his father died when Larry was 12 years old. She took in washing and sewing to get through the years of the Great Depression.

In 1937 Larry graduated from high school in Minot, ND, and then decided to hop a freight train to come out west to see the Pacific Ocean. Larry’s first job was selling magazines and that allowed him to travel to several states. After a year of that, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and because he had taken typing in high school, he was put into the infirmary as a clerk which paid an extra $8 per month. Out of the $28 that he earned in a month, he had to send $12 home to help his mother.

In 1940 he was told he had to sign up for the draft, so he decided to join the Navy. After boot camp, he wanted to go into the submarine service because it paid an extra $5 per month, but instead he got orders to go to Corpsman School. After that school, he and one other sailor got orders to Richmond, VA to a Marine recruiting station. They only needed one of them, so Larry lost the coin flip and was sent to the recruiting station at Charleston, (by God) WV where he met the love of his life, Leatha Horn, and married her June 1942. (She preceded Larry in death.)
Right after the birth of their son, Bill, in 1943, Larry got orders to go to Bremerton to serve on a newly commissioned destroyer escort, the USS Sanders (DDE 41). Off he went to the Pacific war. He used to recount some of the battles he was in: Battle for the Philippines, Battle for Iwo Jima, and the Battle for Okinawa. All this and he came through without a scratch. After the Battle of Okinawa, they were caught in a typhoon where several ships and the USS Sanders sustained heavy damage and had to return to Bremerton for repairs. He took leave at that time to go to North Dakota where his wife and son were staying with his mother. On the way back on the train, they found out the war was over. He was stationed in San Francisco after the war and that is where his daughter, Donna, was born.

In 1949 he moved his family to Bremerton to live. He was stationed on several different ships such as an ice breaker, the USS Burton Island, and an oiler which took him around the world twice. He spent the last year of the Korean Conflict with the 1st Marine Battalion in Korea. His last duty station was in Aberdeen at another duty station. This is where he retired from the Navy after 20 years of service. Larry then moved his family to Bellingham to go back to school to become a teacher. He graduated with honors and chose Marcus Whitman Junior High School to start his teaching career. He also taught at Cedar Heights Junior High and later worked with the South Kitsap School Administration in building mathematics curriculum for all three junior high schools in the Port Orchard area.

Surviving Larry are his son, Bill (Jan) Olson, and daughter, Donna (David) Printz, four grandchildren, eight great grandchildren and five great great grandchildren.

A son and daughter couldn’t be prouder of a father who knew how to take care of his family.