GLENBURN – The Rev. Donald Lloyd Olson went home to be with the Lord Thursday, March 15, 2012, after a brief illness. He was born March 11, 1927, in Petaluma, Calif., the son of Norwegian immigrants Minnick and Anna (Christensen) Olson.
He grew up on the family’s small chicken ranch in Petaluma, Calif. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy aboard the light cruiser USS Astoria. After the war, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Pacific, Stockton, Calif. After college, he worked as a mailman with the U.S. Postal Service in Petaluma, Calif. At about that time, he began attending Stockton Covenant Church, Stockton, Calif. His involvement with Evangelical Covenant Church of America led him to enroll in ministerial studies at North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago. He was ordained in 1962. An interim pastorate at Providence Covenant Church, Providence, R.I., brought him to New England for the first time. While in Providence, R.I., he met Mildred Helgerson of Rumford, R.I. Don and Millie married in 1961. Together, they served Covenant congregations in Woodstock, Conn., 1961-1965; and Stamford, Conn., 1965-1967. During these years, their marriage was blessed with four children, Daniel, Sarah, Rebecca and Andrew. In 1967 Don accepted the call to become pastor of two Covenant congregations in Maine: Glenburn Covenant Church and Ohio Street Covenant Church, Bangor. Life in central Maine suited Don and Millie, and it was here that they raised their children. Don served as pastor of Glenburn Covenant Church for more than 26 years, retiring in 1993. He spent many hours carefully planning and writing his sermons. He delighted in the privilege of delivering the Gospel from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. Don wrote and preached thousands of sermons, but for him, the most important message was found in John 3:16. He faithfully called upon the sick, elderly and homebound, and was known for his gracious bedside manner. After retirement, he served as a pulpit supply pastor with Interchurch Ministries for a number of years. In this capacity, he and Millie enjoyed visiting numerous churches throughout central and eastern Maine, and made many friends. In the late 1970s, Don worked with the Eastern Maine Task Force on Aging, and enjoyed educating isolated or shut-in senior citizens about services and benefits available to them. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, he also worked at Northeastern Log Homes, Kenduskeag. Don had special ties to a number of other congregations in Maine, including Monhegan Island Community Church, Lee Missionary Alliance Church, Kenduskeag Union Church and Evangelical Covenant Church of New Sweden. He took special pleasure in his summer cottage at West Lake in eastern Maine.
He was predeceased by his parents, Minnick and Anna Olson; a sister, Verna, who died in early childhood; and his older brother, Walter. He is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Mildred Olson of Glenburn; their four children, Daniel Olson and his wife, Megan, of New Sweden, Sarah Ramgren and her husband, Jon, of Waterville, Rebecca Dowling and her husband, Jack, and Andrew Olson and his wife, Karen, of Readfield; and five grandchildren, Anson, Arthur and August Olson, and Anna and David Ramgren. Don is also survived by his twin brother, Harold Olson of Martinez, Calif., and his wife, Marie; as well as special family friend, Wendy Schriver; and Jack Dowling’s children: son, Ernest and daughter, Christy Baker and her husband, Gabe, and their daughters, Madi and Gracie.
The family invites relatives and friends to a memorial reception honoring his life and work 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at the Family Reception Center of Brookings-Smith, 163 Center St., Bangor. Condolences to the family may be expressed at
www.BrookingsSmith.com.