Kathy Olson, 73, of Star, Idaho, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on December 1, 2024, after many years battling with dementia. She passed away in her home surrounded by family. 

Kathy was born on February 12, 1951, to Victor and Jean Chambers in Sydney, Australia. She was one of seven children. In 1965 she was seriously injured in a tragic vehicle accident in Australia which tragically took the lives of her Father, Mother and little sister. Not long after Kathy and her siblings moved to the United States. She graduated from Terra Linda High School in California in 1968-ish. Her first marriage shortly after high school ended in divorce but resulted in the births of three of her children, Billy, Jamie and Jennifer. Her and the three kids later moved to Star, Idaho where she met the love of her life Gary Olson. Kathy and Gary were married on March 27, 1983, and shortly thereafter their son Brian was born. In all there were five kids, Joe (from Gary’s first marriage), Billy, Jamie, Jennifer and Brian. Kathy was an amazing mother to her children and adored being “Nanny” to her grandchildren of which there are thirteen and one great-grandchild.  She loved the holidays and special occasions where her children would all be together and she loved playing games with her grandchildren and taking them to Baskin and Robbins’ for ice cream. 

Kathy’s life work revolved around her two major passions, landscaping and sharing the love of Jesus. She worked as a landscaper for almost thirty years and a great deal of her landscaping can still be seen around Star as well as all over the valley. She truly had an incredible vision for connecting her landscape design to the people she was landscaping for. This often opened the door to sharing the love of Jesus she felt in her own life with the people who hired her. She never missed an opportunity to talk to people. If you were willing to stand in front of her for five minutes, she was going to tell you her life story, all about her family and how Jesus had saved her. In all she did it was her heart’s desire too point others to the Lord, and she took a great deal of pride in being a landscaper like her father Victor and working a tough job outside in the dirt like her husband Gary. 

There were many other things Kathy enjoyed in her life. She loved the ocean and going to the Oregon Coast with her husband. She loved going to breakfast or lunch with her siblings, friends or kids. There was also her daily habit of cozying up on the couch, sitting in the sunshine coming through the windows and reading her bible and writing down her prayers in her many journals. Attending church was a true joy for her and she was a member of many different churches over the years. Her love for people was rooted in her faith and modeled on Jesus’ example of compassion, courage and grace. She brought many people to the foot of the cross and we will only truly understand the impact she had on people’s lives when we see her again. Kathy had many challenges throughout her life, but she tried to approach each day with hope and joy, and she had a lot in common with the apostle Paul when he wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

She is survived and will be deeply missed by her husband, Gary, of 41 years; their children: Joe Farrar, Billy Alwes, Jamie (Cesi) Alwes, Jennifer (Sashi) Tatsumi, Brian (Heather) Olson; thirteen grand-children and one great-grandchild; her siblings: Phil (Deena) Chambers, Vicki (Randy) Zager, Pete (Terri) Shields and Sandy Perotto. She is also survived by many other extended family and friends whom she loved. 

She is preceded in death by her parents, Victor and Jean Chambers; parents Loran and Helen Olson; sisters: Sharon Wavra, Joey Chambers and Sharon Chambers and brother, John Chambers. 

Kathy’s celebration of life will be held at LifeSpring Church 174 N Star Rd, Star, Idaho at 11:00am, Thursday December 12th, 2024. Burial will immediately follow the service at the Star Cemetery. There will also be some food/refreshments at the LDS Church next to the cemetery after the burial.