Arthur George Olsen, 93, of 83 Hall St. North Adams MA, and lately of St. Louis, MO, died Friday, February 22, 2019, at the Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, on August 12, 1925, son of the late Arthur F. and Carrie (Bratland) Olsen. He was a member of the class of 1940 at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, and trained as a Navy pilot in World War II. After the war, he became the first in his family to attend college, graduating from the Pratt Institute with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Mr. Olsen took his engineering degree to North Adams, Massachusetts, where he worked at Sprague Electric Company for 40 years. While working at Sprague, he met Anne Rowley, a chemist in the engineering department, whom he married on November 26, 1949. He was a person who showed his love through action, expressing his deep faith through service to his church, and building endless family memories and traditions while fishing, golfing, gardening, and doing household projects with his sons and grandchildren. He cared tirelessly for his wife through the years of her last illness. A role model who was always inspiring without judgment, he was deeply kind, endlessly playful, and filled with faith, energy, joy, and a giving spirit. Mr. Olsen was a daily communicant of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in North Adams, and he served for many years as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector at St. Francis of Assisi Church. In later years, he was sacristan at St Elizabeth of Hungary Church. He was the beloved husband of Anne (Rowley) Olsen for 60 years, until her death in 2010. They resided in North Adams throughout their married life. Mr. Olsen was the loving father and father-in-law of George and Karen Kosowicz Olsen of Great Falls, VA; James and Maria Bacopulos Olsen of Westminster, CO; Thomas Olsen and Katherine Maxson of St. Louis, MO; and Robert and Jane Nicklin Olsen of Ridgefield, CT. Mr. Olsen is survived by ten grandchildren and their spouses and partners: Alyssa Olsen Brodzinski and her husband Mark; Jennifer Olsen Ross and her husband Stephen; Stephen Olsen and his wife Caitlin; Eric Olsen and his wife Jessica; Emma Olsen and her husband Steven Martin; Molly Olsen Lewen and her husband Michael; Michael Olsen; George Olsen; Daniel Olsen; and Elizabeth Olsen. He was the adoring great grandfather of Olivia and Jack Brodzinski; Sophie, Daphne, and James Ross; and Sierra and Ethan Olsen.
FUNERAL NOTICE: A Liturgy of Christian Burial will take place on Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Church. Burial will follow in Southview Cemetery. Calling hours will take place from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 29th at the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, 521 West Main St., North Adams.
Memorial donations are suggested for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and may be made through the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.