Obituary of Kenneth "Ollie" Olsen

OLSEN: Kenneth Wayne (Ollie) Olsen passed away on Saturday, August 26th, 2017 surrounded by family and friends, at the age of 75 years. Known for his never-ending sense of humor, Ollie loved most of all kidding with those he loved. In younger years, he was known for his guitar playing and vocal ability; a gift he would pass on to future generations- his love of music! Ollie was predeceased by his parents, Arnold and Doris Olsen; sister Darlene Olsen; brother-in-law Zanny Trotz. Left to cherish his memory is his sister Amy McAlpine (Lloyd); brother Gary Olsen and (in spirit) Leonard Olsen. He also leaves to mourn: a niece Christina Campbell Trotz; nephew: Cory Trotz (Krista). Several great nieces and nephews, including Arron, Ashley, Zander, Olivia (baby Ollie), Jaden, Easton, Reese and Ally; and many cousins and extended family and friends. Also remembering him, his daughter Julie (Gregg), and many good friends and neighbours, especially Donnie and Cathy Gompf, and Marge VanMeer; who went the extra mile to ensure he was ok. Ollie was raised on the farm, where he learned at an early age what hard work was all about. He later enlisted in the Army in the Queen's Own Rifles Regiment; which was founded in April of 1860, making it the oldest regiment in Canada. He served in Calgary, Victoria (twice) and later Toronto. Ollie also went to Germany during peace time, and then served with the United Nations in Cyprus in 1967. After the Army, Ollie lived in Calgary for a time and eventually returned to his home, the prairies. Ollie held various jobs in the Brandon, Virden and Oak Lake areas; including building supplies at J & G Supply, Home Hardware, Virden Building Supplies, Mars Leisure (detailing boats). In later years, while living in Oak Lake, Ollie was a courier, groundskeeper at the golf course, cemetery and a sanitation engineer at the Oak Lake dump. Known in his younger days as being the life of the party, Ollie played and sang on many occasions in his sister Amy's kitchen, or at one friend or another's place. He loved camping weekends with friends and family, and in later years, as he reached retirement age, he enjoyed going to check the mail with his buddy Donnie, grabbing a coffee, then visiting with Donnie's dogs, whom he seemed to love most! He enjoyed the visits from everyone... home cooked meals, cherry pie, cheesies and chocolate. A Celebration of Ollie's Life will be held at the Oak Lake Community Hall, 438 N. Railway St., Oak Lake, Manitoba on Monday, September 11th, at 2:00 p.m.; urn bearer will be Curtis Trotz, Ollie's nephew. A Graveside Service will be held at the Erickson Cemetery at a later date. Donations in memory of Ollie may be made to the Parkinson Society of Manitoba, 414 Westmount Drive, Winnipeg, MB, R2J 1P2 or to the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba, 4B-457-9th Street, Brandon, MB, R7A 4A9.