Obituary of Quentin Olson

Quentin Olson - loving husband, affectionate father, and dear friend - died peacefully at his Clover Valley home southwest of Two Harbors on April 9, 2021 at age 75.

Quentin married Alice Ingrid Pylkkanen, and they became known and loved by many as a team for their work with St. Paul’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Churches in Duluth.

He was born in Painesville, Ohio on October 2, 1945; grew up on Duluth’s Park Point where he loved sailing, ice boating, hockey, and rowing for the Duluth Rowing Club; graduated from Central High School in 1964 and then shipped out as a seaman aboard the Colonel James Pickands, a Cleveland Cliffs ore boat to sail the Great Lakes. While on Christmas shore leave he met Alice at a party, immediately fell in love with her, and on July 2, 1966 became her devoted husband forever.

Duty to country called him in 1966 to enlist in the Army where he became a sergeant in the combat engineers during the Vietnam War. He led his explosives team, sometimes as a “tunnel rat”, in operations against the infamous “tunnels of Cu Chi” northwest of Saigon, for which the Army commended him for destroying a significant section of the complex. Upon his return stateside, he and Alice were posted to Fort Hood, Texas which initiated their 53 years of marriage.

After his service, he worked as a design draftsman for the Duluth engineering firm of Foster, Jacobs, and Johnson (FJ&J), moved to St. Louis for similar work, and then returned to FJ&J from which he retired. During these years he and Alice raised a daughter and two sons while working and doing church volunteer work in both cities. They also lovingly welcomed Alice’s dad Walter Pylkkanen to live with them until he moved to the Minnesota Veterans Home in Silver Bay.

Following the passing of Alice in September 2019, Quentin lived quietly in their Clover Valley home which continued to be open and welcoming, along with the sauna and creek, for family and friends who visited frequently. He was a “hands on tools guy” with a big heart who will be remembered and loved for always being “ready, willing, and able” to give a helping hand.

Quentin was also preceded in death by his parents Vi and Harry, brothers Craig and Paul, and sister Amy. He is survived by siblings Mary Ann and Steve; daughter Alissa (Aaron) Larsen of Solon Springs; sons Philip of Crystal, and Dane (Courtney) of St. Paul; grandchildren Rachael Olson, and Emma and Mason Larsen; great-grandson Cayden Olson; brother-in-law Donald Pylkkanen of St. Paul; cousin Anna-Marie Dennhardt of Thunder Bay; and niece Briana (Jason) Johnston of Deephaven with grandnephew Wally. An announcement of services will be published at a later date.