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).
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To whom it may concern, this is the email that we sent the day after we learned of Aletha's death. It is less formal but accurately captures our feelings.
ReplyDeleteHi all,
We are writing to let you know that Neil and I were stunned to learn yesterday that Neil's mom, Aletha Olson had passed way at her home in Los Feliz (in LA, CA) the previous evening. She had been putting her affairs in order lately and I am sure she would have been pleased to die so quietly at home, without a drawn out illness. She was so energetic and engaged with all of us that none expected her to leave us so soon.
While it may seem odd to be shocked by the death of 92 year old who would have been 93 in June, no one expected it because of her activity, mental alertness and good spirits. Neil and I are grateful to have seen her Easter Sunday and talked to her for this past Sunday for her regular Sunday call. She sounded as cheerful and engaged in life as always. All who knew her were warmed by her buoyant spirit, loving heart and lively interest in all people and activities around her. Her 5 sons and their wives and many friends will miss her.
As many of you know, she commuted the long trip from LA to overnight with us and spend 2 days with Clark and Xander from preschool through high school.
Beloved by her each of her 10 grandchildren she was a doting grandmother who shared her life wisdom and integrity, taught multiplication tables and made and stuck to sensible rules, as well as loving each of her grandchildren and making them peanut butter balls. She also got to meet and love 3 great grandchildren. Aletha was a natural teacher who taught for a full professional career and after her retirement worked in the grandkids classrooms, baby sat all grandkids, taught English as a second language to adults in her neighborhood and babysat neighbor kids, among her many volunteer activities.The family is planning a memorial for her in early June, probably in Los Feliz, Los Angeles , CA, so all grandkids can attend.We were blessed to have her warm and loving spirit among us.We appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
love,
Carol and Neil
June 1, 2009
ReplyDeleteDear Eric, Layton, Carl, Neil, and Wayne,
The sudden loss of your mother stunned all of us. She was so alert a few days before that we couldn’t believe she was no longer with us.
I first met Aletha when we were working together on the Los Feliz Improvement Association (LFIA) History Committee survey of historical resources in 1989. Documenting all the homes built in Los Feliz before 1950 was a huge undertaking done by local volunteers. Aletha proved to be invaluable when it was time to organize all the information we had gathered. She immediately grasped the task and set to work on it. With some 3,000 properties included in the survey, it was quite a challenge. Thanks in part to her assistance the survey was completed in 2000 and is now available to the public at the reference desk of the Los Feliz Library. The data gathered was also turned over to the City Planning Department to become part of the City of Los Angeles/Getty SurveyLA project.
While the History Committee was working on the survey, we realized that LFIA’s 75th anniversary was approaching. In honor of the event the committee decided to publish a book based on the history of the LFIA. Aletha volunteered to write the chapter on 1980 - 1985 which she titled Crime and Celebration. This was a daunting task. We acquired the minutes and other ephemera of the LFIA from 1916 - 1985 which was stored in large barrels. Everything had to be sorted, first by decade and then by year. The volunteers had to analyze the data they had and summarize the significant issues and projects undertaken by LFIA. The book, The History of the Los Feliz Improvement Association published in 1991, won a preservation award from the Los Angeles Conservancy, and a second edition was published in 2000.
The History Committee also started holding Photo Days to collect old photographs of the area from residents and former residents. Aletha was always there to greet the photo donors and to interview them about their photos. Her welcoming smile and genuine interest made everyone feel comfortable.
Although Aletha was a Director of the LFIA in the 1980s, she continued to attend many of the LFIA board meetings as an observer. She said it was the only way to find out what was going on in the neighborhood and she wanted to be up-to-date on things.
She thoroughly enjoyed the monthly Architecture and Beyond lecture series at the Los Feliz Library. She was curious to learn more and found the lectures fascinating. The last lecture she attended with us on April 16 was by Barton Phelps, the architect of the Los Feliz Branch Library. She was particularly interested in his presentation because of the background information he gave about the library where she spent a significant amount of time as a volunteer in the children’s section.
It was at that meeting that she gave me a check for LFIA’s new book Los Feliz: An Early Illustrated History. She said I could just give it to her at the next board meeting, but I didn’t want her to have to wait that long so I stopped by to see her on April 20. She was thrilled to get the book and anxious to read it. We were in her kitchen so I noticed all the photos on her refrigerator. She proudly described the activities and accomplishments of her grandchildren. She explained that the picture she had of her new great grandchild was too big to fit on the refrigerator and she had to get a smaller one. She was excited about the big family birthday party coming up on Sunday.
And then she was gone.
Aletha cared deeply about her family and her community and actively contributed to strengthen them. I will miss her bright smile, her perpetual good cheer, and her enthusiasm for everything in life.
Fondly,
Marian Dodge
President, Los Feliz Improvement Association
Member of LFIA History Committee