Aletha Louise White Olson, 1916-2009

Aletha Louise White Olson, age 92, died at her home in Los Angeles on April 21. Daughter of Herbert and Lenore Mooney White, she was born on June 11, 1916 while her parents were living in Canada at a marine research laboratory in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. The family returned to the Hyde Park area of Chicago soon afterward, later moving to Southern California where she grew up in Long Beach, with her sister Leda and brother Vern. She graduated from UCLA in 1937 and embarked on a career teaching physical education. In 1938, she married Eugene Fred Olson, who had graduated from UCLA and become a teacher and school administrator in Los Angeles after a short period as a minor league baseball player. Their five sons were born between 1940 and 1949. After they entered college, she taught again for many years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Admired by her entire family for her strength, positive attitude and energy, she was an enthusiastic gardener, community volunteer teacher, and world traveler, who loved introducing her grandchildren to the world, frequently giving her time to volunteer in their classrooms. She was active at the Los Feliz Branch of the L.A. Public Library, in its reading programs both for grandparents and kids and for English as a second language; at Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church and La Canada Presbyterian Church; in the Los Feliz Improvement Association and its History Committee; and in the UCLA Alumni Association. She is survived by her sister Leda Elaine Buss, of Sacramento, and her family; sons Eric (Sierra Madre), Layton (Chicago), Carl (Woodland Hills), Neil (Laguna Beach), and Wayne (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) and their wives, Carol (Cookie), Annette, Carol and Sandy. She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren Evan, Kathryn, Mary, Jason, Allan, Clark, Alexander, Sarah, Henry, and Emma; great-grandchildren Ansel, Paul, and Eleanor; the children of her brother Vern A. White and their families; and cousin Lorraine Mooney Collins. Also survived by many other dear friends and extended family members, both in the U.S. and in her husband’s family in Sweden. Her husband predeceased her.

A memorial service is being planned for June 14, and a family-and-friends archive has been created at http://rememberingaletha.blogspot.com/. For more information, please consult the Remembering Aletha archive, or contact either Eric Olson (eoesq@boldlaw.com), or Layton Olson (leo@howehutton.com). In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to La Canada Presbyterian Church (626 Foothill Boulevard, La Canada, CA 91011); Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church (4607 Prospect Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027); the Los Feliz Improvement Association Historical Committee, (PO Box 29395, Los Angeles, CA 90029); and the Los Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (check made out to Skylight Books, marked "Library- Aletha Olson fund," and sent directly to Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027).