Allan Meredith Olson

Allan Meredith Olson (Snookie, Ole) passed away April 2, 2015 peacefully at his home in Medford, Oregon, surrounded by his 2 daughters at the age of 92. Allan was born Oct. 29, 1922 in Appleton, MN to Alfred and Anna Olson. At the age of 12, Allan got his first car from the junkyard. Needing parts he took a job with a value company. Because he was too young to get paid they allowed him to use their equipment to make parts for his car. The model-T set the ball rolling for his future of engineering and manufacturing. Allan worked hard in school along with working in the fields. He became an accomplished muleskinner. In high school he played forward on the hockey team and talked about how he enjoyed the ice. At the age of 17 Allan entered the Army. He was accepted into the special services and was sent overseas to train with the British Commando Brigade. Our special forces were a fledgling corp, eventually named the O.S.S. Allan was a demolition specialist who was with many major campaigns and many behind the line missions in World War II. He was awarded a purple heart and spent a whole year in a body cast. He eventually was discharged from the army as a Sergeant Major. He continued to have many more adventures doing jobs for the government. Ole went to college in Denver, CO where he studied mining engineering. Money being thin, he and his buddies would put on coats with large pockets and head off to the Coors Brewery Company during happy hour. They would order a beer and load up on food that was complimentary. They also filled those pockets with food to hold them over for a few more meals. Later, Allan had his own trucking business. His jobs were mostly in the mid-west. The trucking business back then was hard, with long hours. At times he would load his mother up in the cab of the truck and off they would go. One winter he came up on a snow bank, needing to get through he backed up and took a run for it. As he hit the snow bank he hit something and out the other side popped a car. It was a family of 5 people saved by a man who knew he couldn’t stay out in the storm and survive. They all made it to town and had a warm meal and gave thanks. He told a story of hauling fuel and crashing his oil tanker and burning down a whole town trying to avoid another car in South Dakota. These events lead to the end of his personal trucking business. Finally Ole made his way to sunny Southern CA. He met Wanda Lou Baker and fell in love. They were married on April 8, 1952. They had a wonderful life raising their daughters and traveling all over. Their life was filled with many great adventures. Needing a job, Allan once again worked for the government. He also started up another business called Creative Extrusions. He learned and it grew into a reputable business and was called the “wiz-kid” by some. Many large Corporations looked for Ole’s help as an engineer along with his fearless drive. Over the years Ole had many businesses and jobs. He made and designed the first umbrella baby stroller and made door frames and window frames out of aluminum. He worked on the space needle in Washington for the State Fair. He helped put together the Lucille Ball stage set. He worked on reconstruction of river rafts, made and designed seat belts for cars and airplanes, moving billboards and light boxes. One of the last things he was involved in was the wheel chair gurney and magnetic therapy. The list is too long to continue, but if you knew him, I’m sure you can come up with one or two more yourself. Allan and Wanda moved to Horse Creek, CA after Allan retired from Campway’s, and built their home called “The Ranch” by Allan. He loved living there but he was always thinking how or what he could make next. After his wife passed away from cancer he came out of retirement. Later he met Lois Onn and was married. They spent many hours on one of Allan’s mining projects in Northern CA. Later they sold the ranch and moved to Irvine, CA where he worked on his magnetic therapy project. Finally, Allan retired again and moved to Coos Bay, OR where he could boat. Sadly once again, Allan lost another wife to cancer. Allan went back to work again. Eventually he retired at the age of 90 and moved to Medford, OR to be closer to his family. Allan had a love for his country and was proud and honored to be a Mason and Shriner. He enjoyed boating, restoring cars, flying, golfing, working and being with family and friends. He held a few titles over his life, devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He treasured each and every one of those titles. Allan was born and I’m sure felt he blinked his eyes and it was over. He lived life to the fullest each day. He had no buildings named after him, no monuments erected in his honor but he was loved and will be missed by many. Let us leave with this. Do not cry for Allan because he is gone; instead, be happy that he was here, that he lived and that we all got the privilege of knowing him and loving him. Allan was preceded in death by his wife Wanda and his wife Lois; father Alfred and mother Anna. Allan leaves behind his sister Betty Hall; two daughters, Rebecca Yannone and Linda Benavente; two son in laws, Frank Yannone and Ron Benavente; five grandchildren, Heather Blacklock, Amanda Steele, Meredith Shipman, Jennifer Kline, Chris Benavente; four great-grandchildren, Zackery, Delton, Sydney and Addison and many family and friends.