Obituary of Colleen Joyce Olson

After a long and valiant struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease, Colleen Joyce Olson (VanToever), of Wolfville, passed away on Friday, June 5th with her family by her side.  Colleen was born in 1940 in the paper mill town of Pine Falls, Manitoba to the late Willem (born in the Netherlands) and Pearl (Mastin, born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) VanToever.  

She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Duane Olson; daughter, Demita Jo (Olson) Boschel (Richard); son, Darrell Olson (Christine); along with grandchildren, Tim Boschel (Steph) and Devon (Boschel) Stewart (Blake); Jonathan, Brennen and Hanna Olson; and great-grandchildren, Bodhi, Henry, Jade and Kaia.

An only child, Colleen grew up in Silver Falls, Manitoba, a cottage community along the Winnipeg River. Her father worked at the local paper mill and next to their home, the family ran a small gas station, corner store and summer cottage rentals.

Although Colleen grew up in the country, she was a city girl at heart. In her late teens she attended secretarial school and then took a position at the well-known Mall Medical Clinic in downtown Winnipeg. Following her marriage to Duane and the birth of their first child, she chose to stay at home to raise her children. She was a wonderful Mom and Nana. She loved to cook and bake, always keen to try new recipes; and was a skilled seamstress, knitter and rug hooker. 

Colleen had a quiet, kind, and generous disposition. Her devotion to her family included the family pets, which over the years included beloved dogs and cats; and the kids’ hamsters, turtles and budgie birds! She enjoyed camping, hiking and being outdoors. Colleen never missed an opportunity to have lunch outside or to bring in a vase of fresh cut flowers. 

As an avid competitive curler, Colleen curled with women’s teams as well as on mixed teams with Duane. Colleen, Duane and their teammates were runners up in the New Brunswick Provincial Mixed Curling Championship two years in a row and made the semi-finals the following year. 

Colleen loved to travel and visited many countries over the years. She enjoyed meeting up with her daughter, Demita when she was travelling for work. She was always up for an adventure. Just the mention of a road trip or travel and her standard answer was “let’s go!”.

Always dedicated to living a healthy life, it was particularly devastating for Colleen and her family when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. She lived with it for 17 years and stayed strong until the very end. Her family takes comfort in knowing she is now at peace and will cherish the wonderful memories of the times before this illness took her away. 

Arrangements for cremation have been entrusted to DeMont Family Funeral Home & Cremation Service. 419 Albert St., Windsor (902) 798-8317. In keeping with the family’s wishes, there will be no visitation or funeral service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Colleen’s memory to the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia, 112-2719 Gladstone St., Halifax, NS B3K 4W6 or at https://alzheimer.ca/ns/en. Messages to the family may be sent by visiting: www.demontfuneralhome.ca, opening the obituary and clicking on the condolence tab.