Mostly Clear, 63° F
(May 23, 2003)
John Leslie Olsen, a retired parasitologist, died of cancer Friday, May 23 at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. He was 64.
Mr. Olsen was born Nov. 22, 1938, in Minneapolis, Minn. He lived as a child in Angleton, Texas, then moved with his family to Fort Collins, Colo., at the age of 10.
He graduated from high school in Fort Collins in 1957, received a B.S. degree in zoology at Colorado State University in 1961 and received a Master's degree in zoology at Kansas State University in 1964. He went on to earn a Phd. in pathology from the College of Veterinary Medicine at CSU in 1971.
He was an instructor in the zoology department at Minot State University in Minot, N.D., from 1964-1966. He was a teaching assistant in the College of Veterinary Medicine at CSU from 1968-1971.
Mr. Olsen worked for the FDA at the Center for Veterinary Medicine as a parasitologist in Rockville, Md., from 1972-1995. In 1995, he retired and relocated in Powell.
His retirement years were spent actively fly fishing and fly tying. He was also a member of the Powell Tree Board for a number of years.
Survivors include his wife of 39 years, Alice Olsen, of Powell; two daughters, Jennifer Foster (John) of Brandywine, Md., and Vanessa Olsen of Reston, Va.; one grandson, John Michael Foster, of Brandywine, Md.; a sister, Barbara Slanker (Larry) of Champaign, Ill.; three aunts, Bertha Edwards and Grace Barker, both of Brigham City, Utah, and Afton Ficarra of Vernal, Utah; one uncle, Grant Olsen of Clearfield, Utah; and numerous cousins.
Cremation has taken place, and services will be private. For those who wish, memorial gifts to the American Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family.
