Oliver "Ollie" Neil Sjoberg

Oliver Neil Sjoberg, aka Ollie, age 73, of Catonsville, Maryland passed away in the arms of his loving wife Toula on Saturday September 10, 2016 after struggling with illness for many months. Ollie was a loving husband, father, papou, brother, and friend who was always ready with a smile and a twinkle in his blue eyes.

Ollie was born on September 7, 1943 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania to Bernard and Dorothy Sjoberg. Always the salesman, young Ollie attached a wooden cart made by his father to his bicycle and peddled through the streets of McKeesport selling the fruit he picked. The legend of his victory in the McKeesport Soap Box Derby sent him to the National Championship in Akron, Ohio in 1958 where he competed in front of 70,000 people.

After a brief stint in college, where his antics culminated in riding home from spring break in Florida with a palm tree sticking out of the window of his car, he enlisted in the Air Force. His love of numbers led him to serve in the accounting department in far-flung places such as Pakistan and Egypt. He returned to complete his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Youngstown State University in 1971.

Ollie and Toula fell in love at first sight over coffee and crackers. Two months later he proposed and they were married on July 11, 1971.

His first job out of college was as a salesman for Republic Steel, and he was transferred to the Baltimore area soon after. Ollie and Toula settled in the suburbs of Baltimore, where they welcomed two daughters to their family, Dory and Jessie. He started working at W.A. Hamilton in 1980 and loved his job of sales, crunching numbers, and getting to know his clients until his retirement.

Through his good friend Jim Dorsey, Ollie was introduced to the Boumi Temple Shriners in 1980. He was a charter member of the Boumi Temple Camel Wheels, and served as secretary since the founding of the group, as well as treasurer for a time. Devoted and loyal, he was also inducted into the prestigious Q Club. He loved the community of the Shriners and remained an active member. As an avid card player, he held his own as king of the table with his poker buddies in the Greater Philadelphia Area.

Ollie’s greatest love was his family and he put them above himself. He adored his wife Toula of 45 years and his two daughters. And as the years brought grandchildren, his greatest joy was snuggling with his grandbabies.

Ollie is survived by his wife Demitra “Toula” Sjoberg, his daughters Dory and Jessie, his son-in-law Derek, his six grandchildren Livy, Teddy, Josie, Sam, Sophie, and Ben, as well as his siblings Judith and Mark, and many loved ones.

Family will receive friends on Friday, September 16 from 4-8PM at STERLING-ASHTON-SCHWAB-WITZKE FUNERAL HOME OF CATONSVILLE, INC., 1630 Edmondson Avenue, Catonsville, MD 21228, and on Saturday, September 17 from 10:30-11AM at the Orthodox Church of St. Matthew, 7271 Eden Brook Drive, Columbia, MD 21046. A funeral service will follow at 11AM. Interment in Crestlawn Memorial Gardens. For those desiring, memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Boumi Temple Transportation Fund for Shriner's Hospitals for Children, 5050 King Avenue, Rosedale, MD 21237.