Ken Olson, 69 of Windham NH, passed away Thursday, peacefully at his home, surrounded by loving family and friends following a battle with brain cancer.
Ken was the son of the late Averill and Carl Olson and grew up in Reading, MA and he was a graduate of Reading High School, class of 1961 and the University of New Hampshire, class of 1965.He and his wife, Kathleen (Meehan) Olson, have been residents of Windham since 1972.
Ken has been described as being perfectly at home both in the Air and on the Sea, as he was a career pilot and a lifelong sailor. He served in the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1972 and is a proud Veteran of the Vietnam War. Following his separation from the Air Force, he worked as an airline pilot for Eastern Airlines until 1989 and then United Airlines until his retirement in 2003.
Ken was a loving and deeply caring and loyal husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, and friend. He truly treasured his family and life long friends from all time periods of his life, high school, college, the Air Force, Eastern, United and from the small town of Windham, both young and old. Ken was a life long boater including power boats on Lake Winnipesaukee as a child and teenager followed by decades spent on the ocean sailing. One of his favorite things to do was to sail locally around the Cape and Islands as well as to take sailing vacations in the US and British Virgin Islands.
Ken was also a life long lover of and participant in all sorts of athletics. He was a Captain of his college football and lacrosse team at UNH, played basketball, baseball and loved to ski. He really enjoyed hiking and camping in the White Mountains of the state he loved so dearly, New Hampshire. He was a lover of many types of music and in his retirement years took up and learned to play the acoustic guitar.
Ken was predeceased by his older brother, Jon and Charlie’s wife, his sister-in-law, Paula.
He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years Kathleen, their daughter Kristin and husband Ron, son David, and wife Teresita and son Peter and partner Jessica. Ken was a loving Grandfather of Julia, Stephen, Jack and Joshua. He is survived by younger brother Charlie of Sturbridge, MA and his three daughters Kerri and husband Joe, Kim and husband Brian and Stacie and husband Ryan. Ken is also survived by sister in law Jill Olson and her and Jon’s daughter Becky and husband Dan, son Rob and wife Ay; brother and sister in law John and Pamela Meehan of Naples, FL and their three sons, Seth and wife Clair, Andrew and wife Lindsey, and Sean and wife Julie; his cousins Tonda of Cape Elizabeth, ME , Priscilla Wilson of Sterling, MA and Jack Jackson of Piedmont, SC and by many grand nieces and grand nephews.
Visiting hours will be from 4-8pm Tuesday, January 22nd at Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home, 214 Main St., Salem, NH.
The funeral service will be Wednesday, January 23rd at 11:00 am at The Searles School in Windham, NH, followed by a luncheon http://www.searleschapel.com.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Ken’s name to either outfit dear to Ken’s heart, The Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 woundedwarriorproject.org or The Lazarus House, PO Box 408, Lawrence, MA 01842 lazarushouse.org.