Albert John Olson

Obituary Albert John Olson, 81, of Colorado Springs, CO, passed away on Jul 12, 2022 at Pikes Peak Care Center, following stays in Denver Health and Parkmoor Health Village. Albert was born August 31, 1940 in Howell, MI to George Wilhelm Olson and Clarice (Fender) Olson. He had four older siblings: Ruth, Clarice, Anne and George. Both parents were teachers. In the summer they would reside at the Fender farm near Coral Lake, MI. Albert attended Wayne Memorial High School, where his father taught shop and drafting. He graduated from Michigan State University '64 with a BS in electrical engineering. Albert's first job and most memorable work experience was on the Apollo project in Downey, CA, where he helped test the crew capsule splashdown. On July 9, 1966 he married Marianna Louise Rasmussen in Greenville, MI, whom he had met at MSU. In 1968, Albert and Marianna moved to Cupertino, CA, where their children David and Erik were born. In 1978, the Olsons moved to Lubbock, TX where Albert joined Texas Instruments' Speech Products Division, just as TI was preparing to release Speak and Spell. In 1981, Albert was instrumental in shipping the talking educational toys Touch and Tell (Vocaid) and the Magic Wand Speaking Reader (Speak and Learn.) Albert was awarded one patent. He enjoyed all children, and was very involved in his boys lives, giving time generously to lead in each boys group such as Christian Service Brigade and Scouting, alongside them. He was instrumental in starting a CSB at his church in Texas, having learned it with his boys in California. He often accompanied them on camping trips, and took his family camping too. In 1985, Albert transferred to Colorado Springs, where he continued at Texas Instruments as a Defense Systems Engineer. In 2011 he retired from Sparta Corporation. Albert is survived by two sons: David Albert Olson (53) of Colorado Springs, CO, and Erik George Olson (51) of Austin, TX, and one sibling, Anne Sharpe (88), of Ann Arbor, MI. Albert was preceded in death by his wife Marianna Olson (2015), his siblings Ruth Beebe (2011), Clarice Harding (2019), and George Olson (1960). Albert's request was for his ashes to be spread in Coral, MI, home to his mothers family, and where he enjoyed his summers as a youth, playing on the farm, fishing and catching frogs. A memorial service will be held on August 9 at the World Prayer Center at New Life Church, 11005 Voyager Pkwy, Colorado Springs, CO, at 11 a.m. to noon, reception following. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made at PageMinistry.org, formerly Worldwide Missionary Crusader, or organization he supported for over 35 years. Services Memorial Service Tuesday August 9, 2022 11:00 AM World Prayer Center 11005 Voyager Parkway Colorado Springs, CO