Deborah S. Olsen

Deborah Ann Sebastian Olsen 1956-2015 Deborah Ann Sebastian Olsen, affectionately known as Debbie, was born in Alexandria, Virginia to Golden Spencer Warfield and David Sebastian. As a proud “Air Force brat,” she and her sister Teri had fond childhood memories from their years in Libya; Okinawa, Japan; and Stuttgart and Munich, Germany. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics with a minor in Economics. While at the University of Maryland, Debbie was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and the fencing team. Her post-graduate studies were done through George Washington University. Debbie began working at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 1980 as an economist in the Office of Occupational Safety and Health Statistics. It was through friends from BLS that Debbie met John Olsen. Debbie told her colleague Judy Daly after their first date that he was the one! John and Debbie married in 1983 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Debbie and John are the proud parents of three beautiful girls – Laura (1985), Kate (1987), and Sarah (1993). Debbie’s affectionate, caring spirit was also on display in her love for the family’s cocker spaniel Pippin. Debbie and John spent their entire married life in Springfield, Virginia, where Debbie’s favorite job was being a mom. She was incredibly proud of her three daughters, Laura, Kate, and Sarah, and was an enthusiastic and dedicated participant in their lives and those of their friends - from soccer fields and Irish dance competitions, “room mom” at St. Bernadette’s elementary school, to performances of the Bishop Ireton High School Wind Ensemble and outdoor adventures as a Girl Scout troop leader. Traveling twice to visit Laura in Peace Corps Peru, helping Kate and her husband Shawn settle in to their townhouse (only a mile’s dog walk down the road!), spending weekends with Sarah at the University of Virginia, and excitedly helping to throw a retirement celebration for John at BLS - she was always there for her family. Debbie was also an integral part of her extended family, hosting frequent Sunday dinners for the Olsen clan in Springfield and visiting her parents Goldie and Ken and sister Teri in Kentucky. Debbie and family have been longtime parishioners of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, where Debbie was a member of the Vestry and the Preschool Board, as well as a Sunday School teacher who loved interacting with her lively, precocious students. The Olsen family is incredibly grateful to be a part of such a tight-knit and loving community. Debbie was also an active volunteer for many years with the local Springfield organization “Ecumenical Communities Helping Others” (ECHO) which assists families in need with clothing, food, and household items. Debbie highly valued her lifelong involvement in the Girl Scouts, treasuring memories from GS camps on Okinawa (complete with learning important local skills like typhoon survival) to her many years serving as a troop leader for her three girls. For more than 31 years, Debbie carpooled to work with John, who retired from the Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier in January 2015. The carpool grew over the years to include all of their daughters - during the summer of 2014, on a few memorable occasions, the entire Olsen family carpooled into the District of Columbia together! Debbie was the Chief of BLS’ Division of International Technical Cooperation in the Office of Productivity and Technology. Debbie managed multi-year technical assistance projects in Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa working with the Department of Labor, the International Labor Organization, the World Bank, and other international organizations. The Olsen girls spent many fond non-school days tagging along with Debbie to BLS, and loved meeting her seminar participants from around the world and hearing about her work trips to destinations as varied as Holland, Uganda, Chile, and St. Lucia. Debbie also served as a part-time special assistant to BLS Commissioner Groshen in 2014. Although we are heartbroken to have lost her so suddenly and unexpectedly, it brings us some comfort that Debbie’s generous spirit lives on through tissue donation, which will impact the lives and health of between 50-75 people in need. She is a role model of a strong, intelligent, selfless woman for her daughters; and her warm smile, sweet disposition, and caring nature have made an impact on so many. She will not be forgotten - her love lives on with all of us. Contributions: Debbie tirelessly gave of herself and her time during her life. If you would like to contribute in her honor, the family suggests donations to one of the following organizations: Saint Christopher’s Episcopal Church Please make checks payable to St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church with the memo indicating donation in honor of Deborah Olsen. Checks can be mailed to: 6320 Hanover Avenue, Springfield, VA 22150 Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital (GSCNC) GSCNC accepts a variety of payment methods, including checks mailed to: 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008 Attention: Development Please make checks payable to GSCNC with the memo indicating donation in honor of Deborah Olsen. You may also give through the secure online donation page using a credit card, where there are fields to indicate donation in honor of Deborah Olsen. Website: www.gscnc.org/donate.html Ecumenical Communities Helping Others (ECHO) Donations can be made to ECHO by check, credit card, or PayPal account. (One hundred percent of these contributions are designated for client assistance). To donate by check (Payable to “ECHO”), please mail to: ECHO, Inc. 7205 Old Keene Mill Road Springfield, VA 22150 Please write “Donation in honor of Deborah Olsen” on the memo line. Include your name and address if you would like ECHO to send you a receipt for your contribution. To donate by credit card or PayPal please copy-paste the following web link in your internet browser: http://66.147.242.168/~echoinco/?page_id=47