Roy I. Olsen

Roy Irving Olsen, 90, of Pine Island, FL, passed away in his son’s home in Cape Coral on March 19, 2013. He was born September 23, 1922, in Granville, MA, to Peter Emil Olsen and Ida Marie Petersen Olsen, both children of Danish immigrants. The family owned and operated a flourishing apple orchard; the four children were taught in a one-room schoolhouse and otherwise helped with many tasks on the farm. He graduated high school at age 16. He served in the US Air Force during World War II in the Alaska territory, assigned to the Aleutian Island Campaign after the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor in 1942. Stationed at a small airfield on Alaska's remote Ogliuga Island, he decoded and transmitted radio communications for the duration of the war. After the war, with the help of the GI Bill, he studied accounting at American International College in Springfield, MA, received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University, and became a CPA. He met his wife and the love of his life, Aurora Inez “Rory” Olsen, at a Christmas party for the Boston department store Jordan Marsh & Co. They married in 1949 and later moved to New York City and Yonkers, NY, while he worked on Wall Street. In NY, he was active as chair of the Republican town committee and Little League Baseball commissioner in Yonkers. The family later moved to Bethlehem, PA, and Nashville, TN, for his work with the New Jersey Zinc Company, one of the nation’s largest producers of zinc and other metals. He retired as chief financial officer after the parent company Horsehead merged with St. Joe Minerals in 1987. During retirement, he traveled with his wife, spending many summer vacations in Maine and enjoying Elderhostel programs throughout the country. He was an avid reader and gardener who enjoyed watching old movies and following progressive politics. He is survived by his loving family including two sons, Peter and his wife, Teresa, of Cape Coral, and Douglas and his wife, Susan, of East Lansing, MI; his sister Ida Jean Olsen Bowers of Westfield, MA; five grandchildren, Jeremy Olsen, Erin Olsen, Kevin Olsen, Patrick Olsen of Cape Coral and Nicholas Olsen of Tempe, AZ; and six great-grandchildren, Alivia, Avery, Carter, Nathan, Joshua and Andrew. He was preceded in death by his sister, Olive Pauline Olsen and brother, Peter Emil Olsen Jr. A celebration of his life will begin. Donations may be made to Salvation Army in his memory.