Ruth I. Olson

Ruth was born to Burnie and Alpha Lossing in Quinn, South Dakota on March 16, 1927. Ruth was the 6th of 11 children. At the age of 9 her family moved to Blackduck, Minnesota, where she lived until she met and married Donald Leroy Olson on November 2, 1945 in Bemidji, Minnesota. Ruth moved to Portland, Oregon where she stayed with Don’s family while he completed his tour in the Marines during WWII. In Beaverton, Oregon, they raised 6 children, where Ruth was a homemaker and provided daycare for several other children over the next 20 years. They were divorced in April of 1975. Ruth worked at Intel in Aloha for several years from the 1980’s, until she retired in about 1992.

Ruth’s passion was for flowers and gardening. Her green thumb showed in her flower and vegetable gardens, where she spent hours each day puttering and bringing seeds to life. Even when dementia set in, her love of planting flower baskets and weeding flower beds continued.

Ruth passed away on 6/30/12. The doctors and staff at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Hospital were instrumental in making her passing peaceful and painless. Ruth’s family is also very thankful for all of the staff at Cedar Creek Assisted Living in Sherwood, whose TLC and love of their work made the last few years of her life happy and meaningful.

Ruth is survived by two brothers, James Lossing and Wallace Lossing; one sister, Grace Wahlert; five sons, Ed Olson, Donald Olson, Scott Olson, Richard Olson, Theodore Olson and one daughter, Jacqueline McMahon; 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.