Connie Marion La Face-Olson

Connie Marion La Face-Olson, a beloved educator, world traveler, gardener, and lover of all living things, brought curiosity, compassion, and beauty to the world throughout her life. She believed deeply in the value of education, the importance of welcoming others, and the joy of making the world more beautiful wherever she went.

Connie was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Constantine and Mary La Face, and grew up in Los Angeles, California. She carried with her a lifelong love of learning and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in 1964 from California State University, Northridge, and her master's degree from the University of Southern California in 1968. She began her teaching career as a high school Business, English, Horticulture, and Yearbook teacher, spending a decade in the classroom before moving into administration with the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she served as Director of the Commission on Sex Equity. She also served as President of the YWCA Greater Los Angeles. In every role, Connie believed education could open minds, build bridges, and change lives.

Connie shared a life of adventure and discovery with her husband, Jim Olson, with whom she traveled the world. Together they embraced new cultures, landscapes, and friendships with a sense of wonder that never left them. For Connie, travel was never only about seeing new places; it was about understanding people. That same spirit led her to welcome exchange students from around the world into her home, eager to show them America and make them feel like family.

Connie was deeply involved in community gardening and was a passionate horticultural educator, sharing her knowledge generously with others. She had an extraordinary gift for plants, able to identify almost any species on sight and effortlessly recall its botanical name. A lover of beauty as much as learning, she also created stunning bouquets and was known for bringing flowers wherever she went, making every place she entered feel more alive.

Animals held a special place in Connie’s heart. She adored her Dalmatians and Vizslas, cherished her tortoise, Dos Equis, and especially loved pandas, which were her favorite. She delighted in memorable encounters with animals around the world, including pandas, orangutans, tigers, and other primates—moments that beautifully reflected her lifelong wonder and love for the natural world.

To know Connie was to know someone who nurtured life in every form: in students, in gardens, in animals, in friendships, and in the many people from around the world who found warmth and welcome in her home. She brought intelligence, generosity, grace, and beauty to all she did. Her legacy lives on in the lives she touched, the flowers she arranged, the gardens she helped grow, and the many people she made feel seen, welcomed, and loved. Her memory will continue to bloom in every garden tended with care, every bouquet shared in love, and every act of kindness offered in her spirit.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jim Olson, in 2023.

The family is deeply grateful to Connie's caregivers for the care and compassion they showed her over the years.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the World Wildlife Fund, or the charity of your choice.