Ronald Olaf Olson

Ronald Olaf Olson of Crawford, Nebraska, died on Saturday, March 14 at the age of 73. Mr. Olson, who moved to Crawford with his wife, the former Cassandra Moody, eight years ago, had recently been elected to membership on the Crawford School Board. Prior to moving to Nebraska, Olson was an educator for 30 years in Racine, Wisconsin, first as a teacher and then as an administrator in the Unified School District of Racine County. Ronald Olson was born in Iron Mountain, Michigan, August 17, 1935, to Oscar Olaf Olson and Anna Best Olson. He attended Kingsford schools through the 11th grade. His family then moved to Beloit, Wisconsin where he graduated from high school in 1953. In the summer of 1953, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as an Airman 1st Class, Air Traffic Control, at Brady Air Force Base, Fukuoka, Japan, and at Kim Po air Base in Korea. He spent four years in the USAF, returning to the States in 1957. Upon his return to Wisconsin, he entered the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1962. He earned his Masters Degree in Administration and Supervision in 1968 from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. During his many years as an educator, Olson was at the forefront of innovative team teaching and curriculum development, first as a teacher and then as an administrator. He taught English in Park Forest, Illinois before he was hired into the Unified School District #1 of Racine County, Racine, Wisconsin, where he would remain until his retirement in 1993. He taught English and Social Studies at Starbuck Junior High for six years, from 1963 to 1969. It was during these years that he headed a team that traveled to schools in the Middle West, giving training in what was then a totally new concept in education: Team Teaching. In 1969, he moved to the administrative side of education, becoming Assistant Principal of Mitchell Junior High. He also served as Principal of the Mitchell Summer Program from 1969 to 1984. In 1986, he became Principal of Gilmore Middle School, with a student population of over 1000. It was from this position that he retired in 1993. As a teacher, administrator, and member of many educational task forces, committees and workshops, his goal was to develop strong curriculums, to use—and train others to use –innovative teaching methods, and to create a strong academic atmosphere in which all students, from the gifted to the disadvantaged, could thrive and achieve to the best of their abilities. He gained the admiration of his fellow teachers, his faculties, and the thousands of students for whom he had responsibility over his many years in education. When he retired from the Racine County Schools he did not retire from his concern for people and their needs. In 1991 and 1992, he took classes and attended seminars and workshops at Carthage College and the University of Wisconsin in preparation for becoming an Alcohol and Drugs/Mental Health counselor. He worked for two years at Interventions, Kenosha, Wisconsin and then from 1994 to 2000 as a Psycho Therapist on the Acute Care Unit, All Saints Health Care system, Behavioral Health Services, Racine. When his wife retired from her teaching position in the Racine schools, they decided it was time to make a move away from the extreme winters along the shores of Lake Michigan. They chose Crawford, Nebraska to be near Cassandra’s family, to have easy access to the South West and to give Ron a very short drive to a good nine hole golf course. During his years in Crawford he became a valued member of the community. At the time of his death, he had just begun his term on the school board, and was looking forward to contributing something of his strong education background. He leaves behind his wife, Cassandra Moody Olson; a brother, Roland Olson and his wife, Jo, of Vacaville, California; a sister, Nancy Olson Erickson and her husband, John, of Crawford; his mother-in-law, Juanita Moody; a brother-in-law, David Moody and wife, Mary, and numerous nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and nephews who loved this gentle, quiet, but full-of-fun uncle. If friends wish to make memorial gifts, the family requests they go to the Crawford Fire and Rescue Departments or Legend Buttes Golf Course.