Val Olson

In this post I would like to pay homage to an amazing lady who lost her very short battle with cancer on March 28th.

This is Val Olson with her son Tim in 1973. This was the only picture available of Val for me to use at this time, but if people reading this have a more recent picture, I would welcome it.

I was in 1st ward for about 4 years and Val was a stalwart fixture there, and clearly had been for a long time. The thing that impressed me most about her was her very practical outlook on Gospel living. She knew the Gospel very well, but she also knew life. She was able to put them together in a way that always seemed applicable for me at home. I loved hearing her comments during lessons of all kinds. Perhaps they took on additional gravity because of her very cool British accent.

When Val was 38 years old she suffered a major stroke and lived with the effects of it until she died. She walked with a brace and a cane, and had one unusable arm. She never let this deter her though. My mother remembers working with her in the Family History Library and said that she was very knowledgeable and helpful. My mother said, "I was always so impressed that in spite of her limitations physically, she would figure out a way to do it herself." 

My mom went on to remember Val, and I will share her words here.

"She drove a car (van? truck?) that was very high and it seemed she had to struggle to get in and out of it, but I did not ever hear her complain.  

I remember being impressed with what a good mother she was. She seemed to have an understanding of [her children's] agency. I don't remember any conversations specifically, but somehow that stuck with me.

She had such a dry sense of humor. Once she was in an R.S. presidency and was like a stand-up comedienne in her talk at the opening meetings. I loved that sense of humor!

It seemed to me that she participated in everything and brought food. It didn't appear that she missed out on much due to her physical disability.

She had a beautiful spirit. "Faithful" would be a word to describe her. I had a lot of admiration for her and never any negative thoughts.

This is what I remember--hope you can read more into this little blurb to highlight her in an appropriate manner--as in way more than these mere words.  She deserves THE BEST!"

As this last paragraph of my mom's suggests, she wanted me to fancy up her words a bit and make it a more eloquent tribute perhaps. But I think my mom did a wonderful job describing a woman who was capable, practical, patient, uncomplaining, funny, faithful, and not the least bit fancy. 

Val learned she had advanced ovarian cancer little more than a month ago. It was so advanced that surgeries had to go forward despite non-optimal conditions. For the last two weeks or so of Val's life she was in and out of surgery, mostly unconscious, and when she was conscious she was unable to speak due to a breathing tube. 

Her daughter-in-law (my anesthesiologist friend, Jeni, whom I have quoted in my blog before) had this to say about her.

"Val's death was terribly sad. She had not expected to die so soon. No one had expected it. There were many things left undone and unsaid. Tim's dad, Tim, four of his siblings and I watched her die. It was heart wrenching to see, but I have no doubt that she is finally free from not only this very quick struggle with cancer but from 28 years of hemiplegia from her stroke at age 38. I think part of the reason for her late diagnosis was her stoicism and her tolerance of life's sufferings."

In honor of Val's stoicism, and out of a sense of my own sadness and need, I will be spelling cancer properly now. To misquote the classic movie A Christmas Story, "It's all fun and games until someone loses . . . a friend."

Val Olson is very loved and will be missed by all who knew her. My prayers go up for her husband, siblings and children, and most especially for my friends the Olsons: Tim, Jeni, Eli, Naomi, Silas and Nyla.