SGT MAJ Arthur Lee Olson's Obituary
SGT MAJ Arthur Lee Olson was born May 17, 1948 in Delta, Utah, son of Arthur L. Olson and Ileen Paice Olson Harris. (Dad, himself, would say he was “born at a young age”.) He spent his early years in Oak City. He was the oldest of 7 children, with 3 brothers and 3 sisters (Kristie, Scott, Gary, Ed, Nancy, Julie).
When he was 6, they moved to Provo, UT. He attended schools in Provo and graduated from Provo High School with a letter in track. As a teenager, he met his future wife, Margene “Maggie” Riggs. They were high school sweethearts and later married in 1970.
He attended BYU until “Uncle Sam wanted him in the military”. He enlisted in the military to avoid being drafted. Enlistment gave him the option to become a linguist. He spent 47 weeks in El Paso, TX learning Vietnamese. After security training, he spent 8.5 months in Vietnam. The water in Vietnam was unsafe so the soldiers drank a lot of Coca-Cola. By the time his tour in Vietnam was up, Art never wanted to drink Coke again and switched to Pepsi, “the nectar of the Gods”, and his life-long addiction was born. After Vietnam, they lived in Fort Meade, Maryland until he had finished his enlistment.
He learned to work hard doing construction with his father. As a young man, he wanted his own space at home and solved the problem by taking a bucket and a shovel and digging a partial basement under his parents’ home. He worked with his hands throughout his life, always repairing the family cars or starting various home projects. He got his Associates of Science degree in Electrical Technology. He worked on electrical systems for various companies until 1986 when he returned to the military full-time. He believed education was important and wanted to set an example for his children and grandchildren, so later in life he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude.
He spent 38 years in the military, mostly serving full-time in the Utah National Guard. He greatly enjoyed the camaraderie of the soldiers he served with and some of them remain his closest friends.
It has been said that Art was a man of many words. If you knew him, then you understand. He had a lifelong love of animals, especially dogs, racing pigeons, aquarium fish, and chameleons. He was an avid reader and was rarely more than arm’s length from a novel. He loved a good story and always had a joke ready. He loved playing basketball and volleyball, both at church and as “PT” at work. He had a remarkably detailed memory. He made friends easily and was incredibly loyal to all that he considered his friends. His kids will say that anywhere they went with Dad, even across the country, he would run into someone that he knew and whose name he remembered.
He was active in the LDS church and served his mission in the Cook Islands where he learned Cook Islands Māori.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, his 5 children: Matthew (Clarissa), Lori, Brian (Paige), Lindsay (Aaron Larsen); and Caleb (Marshell), 16 grandchildren, and his 6 siblings.
He was preceded in death by his father, Arthur L.; his mother, Ileen; his step-father, Keith; and his grandson, Zane Smith.
Services will be held on Friday, January 31, 2025 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Chapel at 1250 East 200 South in Pleasant Grove, UT. A viewing service will be from 9 AM to 10:30 AM with the funeral service at 11 AM. Internment will be in the Orem City Cemetery.
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