Kim Olson was born in Pasadena, California on October 19, 1950. He grew up in California and Arizona, and joined the United States Army at age seventeen. His job in the Army took him all over the world, with repeated stays in numerous locations. He told me the reason for that was because his particular job was not something common to all Army bases and finding himself on familiar ground was just part of the job. During one of his stays in Alabama, he completed his Engineering Science Degree at John C. Calhoun State College. In 1990, after 22 years in the Army, Kim retired as a Sergeant First Class, a rank he stubbornly held on to even though he was pressured to advance.
Kim continued working as a civilian federal contractor specializing in ground radar electronics, maintenance and operations. He spent many years in the Marshall Islands, a time that he loved. At 6 feet, 4 inches, he could bicycle from one end of his island to the other in a matter of minutes. He enjoyed telling me that people would add new fish to their salt water tanks by snorkeling into the ocean just a few steps away. I teased him with a sisterly threat to come visit him, then stay to open up a juice-and-java bar on the beach. He gave me a funny look, but laughed anyway. Illness took him off of Kwajalein, but after recovering he jumped right back on the work wagon and began a new job near his new home in Henderson, Nevada. His daily commute involved driving his SUV, or sometimes riding his Harley, to where he and his co-workers would hop onto an unmarked plane, fly into restricted airspace, and land in a place that they couldn't talk about. We bugged him about that a little [allowed by the rulebook for siblings], but we all knew not to ask any serious questions. We also knew that he would not have answered them anyway, except to say that the food was good.
Kim had many interests. He enjoyed exploring and photographing the great outdoors, reading, building intricate wooden ship replicas, playing his guitars, and collecting unique memorabilia, among many other things. He loved finally having his own home after so many years spent all over the world, and filled it with hundreds of mementos from his travels.
Kim served his country as an Army man and as a civilian for over 40 years, but he was most proud of his daughter Andrea. To see them side by side- similar in face, Kim with his red hair and Andrea with her gorgeous auburn waves- was to know they were father and daughter. He was at his happiest whenever he was near her.
My brother Kim was an extremely intelligent person, sometimes a little ornery, always very independent. He built his own personal computer long before most of us had even heard of such a thing. We used to teasingly ask him if anybody could get into Area 51, and he would tease back, "Maybe, but good luck getting out!" He enjoyed simple things too, like the night sky, Hawaiian shirts, and cooking shows.
Kim's illness caught up to him again in the Spring of 2011. After some weeks in the hospital, he passed away on June 30. He was buried at sea on January 14, 2012 in an Honorary Ceremony performed aboard the USS Chafee, which was on deployment in the South Pacific.
We didn't get to see him nearly enough.
We miss him very much.
Kim continued working as a civilian federal contractor specializing in ground radar electronics, maintenance and operations. He spent many years in the Marshall Islands, a time that he loved. At 6 feet, 4 inches, he could bicycle from one end of his island to the other in a matter of minutes. He enjoyed telling me that people would add new fish to their salt water tanks by snorkeling into the ocean just a few steps away. I teased him with a sisterly threat to come visit him, then stay to open up a juice-and-java bar on the beach. He gave me a funny look, but laughed anyway. Illness took him off of Kwajalein, but after recovering he jumped right back on the work wagon and began a new job near his new home in Henderson, Nevada. His daily commute involved driving his SUV, or sometimes riding his Harley, to where he and his co-workers would hop onto an unmarked plane, fly into restricted airspace, and land in a place that they couldn't talk about. We bugged him about that a little [allowed by the rulebook for siblings], but we all knew not to ask any serious questions. We also knew that he would not have answered them anyway, except to say that the food was good.
Kim had many interests. He enjoyed exploring and photographing the great outdoors, reading, building intricate wooden ship replicas, playing his guitars, and collecting unique memorabilia, among many other things. He loved finally having his own home after so many years spent all over the world, and filled it with hundreds of mementos from his travels.
Kim served his country as an Army man and as a civilian for over 40 years, but he was most proud of his daughter Andrea. To see them side by side- similar in face, Kim with his red hair and Andrea with her gorgeous auburn waves- was to know they were father and daughter. He was at his happiest whenever he was near her.
My brother Kim was an extremely intelligent person, sometimes a little ornery, always very independent. He built his own personal computer long before most of us had even heard of such a thing. We used to teasingly ask him if anybody could get into Area 51, and he would tease back, "Maybe, but good luck getting out!" He enjoyed simple things too, like the night sky, Hawaiian shirts, and cooking shows.
Kim's illness caught up to him again in the Spring of 2011. After some weeks in the hospital, he passed away on June 30. He was buried at sea on January 14, 2012 in an Honorary Ceremony performed aboard the USS Chafee, which was on deployment in the South Pacific.
We didn't get to see him nearly enough.
We miss him very much.
Kim Olson was born in Pasadena, California on October 19, 1950. He grew up in California and Arizona, and joined the United States Army at age seventeen. His job in the Army took him all over the world, with repeated stays in numerous locations. He told me the reason for that was because his particular job was not something common to all Army bases and finding himself on familiar ground was just part of the job. During one of his stays in Alabama, he completed his Engineering Science Degree at John C. Calhoun State College. In 1990, after 22 years in the Army, Kim retired as a Sergeant First Class, a rank he stubbornly held on to even though he was pressured to advance.
Kim continued working as a civilian federal contractor specializing in ground radar electronics, maintenance and operations. He spent many years in the Marshall Islands, a time that he loved. At 6 feet, 4 inches, he could bicycle from one end of his island to the other in a matter of minutes. He enjoyed telling me that people would add new fish to their salt water tanks by snorkeling into the ocean just a few steps away. I teased him with a sisterly threat to come visit him, then stay to open up a juice-and-java bar on the beach. He gave me a funny look, but laughed anyway. Illness took him off of Kwajalein, but after recovering he jumped right back on the work wagon and began a new job near his new home in Henderson, Nevada. His daily commute involved driving his SUV, or sometimes riding his Harley, to where he and his co-workers would hop onto an unmarked plane, fly into restricted airspace, and land in a place that they couldn't talk about. We bugged him about that a little [allowed by the rulebook for siblings], but we all knew not to ask any serious questions. We also knew that he would not have answered them anyway, except to say that the food was good.
Kim had many interests. He enjoyed exploring and photographing the great outdoors, reading, building intricate wooden ship replicas, playing his guitars, and collecting unique memorabilia, among many other things. He loved finally having his own home after so many years spent all over the world, and filled it with hundreds of mementos from his travels.
Kim served his country as an Army man and as a civilian for over 40 years, but he was most proud of his daughter Andrea. To see them side by side- similar in face, Kim with his red hair and Andrea with her gorgeous auburn waves- was to know they were father and daughter. He was at his happiest whenever he was near her.
My brother Kim was an extremely intelligent person, sometimes a little ornery, always very independent. He built his own personal computer long before most of us had even heard of such a thing. We used to teasingly ask him if anybody could get into Area 51, and he would tease back, "Maybe, but good luck getting out!" He enjoyed simple things too, like the night sky, Hawaiian shirts, and cooking shows.
Kim's illness caught up to him again in the Spring of 2011. After some weeks in the hospital, he passed away on June 30. He was buried at sea on January 14, 2012 in an Honorary Ceremony performed aboard the USS Chafee, which was on deployment in the South Pacific.
We didn't get to see him nearly enough.
We miss him very much.
Kim continued working as a civilian federal contractor specializing in ground radar electronics, maintenance and operations. He spent many years in the Marshall Islands, a time that he loved. At 6 feet, 4 inches, he could bicycle from one end of his island to the other in a matter of minutes. He enjoyed telling me that people would add new fish to their salt water tanks by snorkeling into the ocean just a few steps away. I teased him with a sisterly threat to come visit him, then stay to open up a juice-and-java bar on the beach. He gave me a funny look, but laughed anyway. Illness took him off of Kwajalein, but after recovering he jumped right back on the work wagon and began a new job near his new home in Henderson, Nevada. His daily commute involved driving his SUV, or sometimes riding his Harley, to where he and his co-workers would hop onto an unmarked plane, fly into restricted airspace, and land in a place that they couldn't talk about. We bugged him about that a little [allowed by the rulebook for siblings], but we all knew not to ask any serious questions. We also knew that he would not have answered them anyway, except to say that the food was good.
Kim had many interests. He enjoyed exploring and photographing the great outdoors, reading, building intricate wooden ship replicas, playing his guitars, and collecting unique memorabilia, among many other things. He loved finally having his own home after so many years spent all over the world, and filled it with hundreds of mementos from his travels.
Kim served his country as an Army man and as a civilian for over 40 years, but he was most proud of his daughter Andrea. To see them side by side- similar in face, Kim with his red hair and Andrea with her gorgeous auburn waves- was to know they were father and daughter. He was at his happiest whenever he was near her.
My brother Kim was an extremely intelligent person, sometimes a little ornery, always very independent. He built his own personal computer long before most of us had even heard of such a thing. We used to teasingly ask him if anybody could get into Area 51, and he would tease back, "Maybe, but good luck getting out!" He enjoyed simple things too, like the night sky, Hawaiian shirts, and cooking shows.
Kim's illness caught up to him again in the Spring of 2011. After some weeks in the hospital, he passed away on June 30. He was buried at sea on January 14, 2012 in an Honorary Ceremony performed aboard the USS Chafee, which was on deployment in the South Pacific.
We didn't get to see him nearly enough.
We miss him very much.
