Obituary: Jack Albert Oleson
Provided Photo
April 15, 1925 – August 9, 2022
Jack Albert Oleson
1925 – 2022
Long-time valley resident Jack Oleson, 97, died Aug. 9 in Eagle. Ambitious, forward-thinking, and a risk-taker, Jack got his first job at age 15 and worked every day well into his 90s.
He raised Polled Hereford cattle on ranches in Eagle County, Longmont, Colorado, New Mexico and Canada, shipping the animals as far as South America and Taiwan. He also owned and managed numerous trucking companies over his lifetime and dabbled in racehorses and silver mining. Jack was the last of the original Vail ski resort investors. At retirement age, he hired on as the ranch manager for the Diamond Star ranch east of Eagle, relishing the opportunity to live his final years on land he had once ranched.
Jack was born into a Gypsum pioneering family on April 15, 1925, to parents Albert and Ione (Kutz) Oleson. He was educated in the Gypsum schools. During World War II, he served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corp from 1943-1945. After the war, he returned to the valley where he courted Charlotte Rose Nottingham, the daughter of an Avon rancher. They married on July 2, 1948, and raised a daughter, Charlynn. Although his work often pulled him away from home, he always returned with smiles, gifts and an idea for new business venture.
Friends and relatives remember Jack for his independence, creativity, and sly sense of humor.
Survivors include daughter Charlynn Williams Knight and son-in-law Terrill of Eagle; grandchildren Dana and Jeff (Christy) Williams; sister Toni Reynolds of Grand Junction; former son in-in-law Dan Williams of AZ and numerous nieces and nephews.
A detailed story of Jack’s life will follow at a later date.
A graveside service is planned for 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2 at Sunset View Cemetery in Eagle. Park at the Brush Creek Pavilion. Shuttles starting at 12:30 p.m. will provide transportation to the cemetery. A celebration of his life will follow immediately after at the Pavilion.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Vail Veterans Program (serving military injured and their families), P.O. Box 6473, Vail, CO 81658, vailveteransprogram.org; or to the Eagle County Historical Society, P.O. Box 192, Eagle, CO 81631, eaglecountyhistoricalsociety.com.
