The following article commemorates the 20th Anniversary of the "Margaret E. Olson Memorial Fund". It is a reprint from a Post-Journal article dated September 3, 1994.
Margaret E. Olson was a person who was willing to spend as much time and energy as necessary to get a job done well. She showed this attribute particularly when she worked with troubled youth. The daughter of the late Lloyd and Beatrice Reynolds Olson, she grew up in Jamestown with her older brother, Patrick. She attended SS. Peter and Paul Parochial School and graduated from Jamestown High School in 1973, and then Jamestown Community College. In 197, she graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and accepted a position with the Division of Youth Group Home in Jamestown. Ms. Olson's interest in troubled youth and the criminal justice system led her to apply for the position of Detention Service Administrator, which began at the Chautauqua County Youth Bureau and was later transferred to the County Probation Department. In this position, Ms. Olson was responsible for all countywide detention services. This necessitated being on call 24 hours a day. She was solely responsible for initiating and implementing the detention program, which earned her the respect of her young clients, her supervisors and peers, judicial personnel and state representatives. She continued this work for seven years; and, in September of 1988, she became the attendance officer and counselor for the Jamestown school system. In these few months, she had already begun innovative measures in her attempt to make a difference in the lives of youth at risk of leaving school.On Dec. 28, 1988, Ms. Olson was killed in a tragic car accident. She was 33 years old. The void left was magnified by how fully she loved life and lived it to the fullest. She worked hard but also enjoyed tennis, camping, water skiing, playing guitar and good friends. She was a communicant of SS. Peter and Paul Church and taught religious education there. Her love for life was reflected in how she worked with troubled youth. She cared sincerely about them and, because she knew they needed help to cope with their problems, she did whatever was needed while reaching out to them so that they, too might enjoy life. Margaret Olson would want her work to continue.To that end, a memorial fund was established in her name and assures a perpetual source of funds to be used for youth service programs.Since the fund's inception, grants have been given to at-risk youth programs. Scholarships have been given to students who intend to pursue the same work which filled Ms. Olson's life.
For twenty years, loyal friends of this 33-year-old have continued to make gifts to the Margaret E. Olson Memorial Fund. In her honor, her work continues….
Previous Page | Next Page