Gordon W. Olsen

Gordon W. Olsen passed away on January 18, 2021, in Herriman, Utah, of natural causes.

Gordon was born in Emory, Utah, on December 7, 1934. Gordon promised his parents he would graduate before he married, so in 1957, he graduated and married the love of his life, Peggy Ruby Olsen.  

Gordon graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering which was a fitting career for dad who was a fantastic engineer. 

Gordon is survived by his wife, Peggy Ruby Olsen, and all eight of their children: Toni Holm (Tom), Dennis Olsen (Nancy), Denice Apgood (Dave), Cheryll Straub (Kurt), Craig Olsen (Andrea), Kenny Olsen, Douglas Olsen (Allison), Darren Olsen (Ronnette), 30 grandchildren, and 60 great grandchildren, and by his siblings: Mark Olsen (Verna), Fred Olsen (Carol), Linda Bradshaw (Lynn), and Judy Sparks (Adrian). Gordon is preceded in death by his parents, Weldon and Ruby Olsen; and two brothers, Gaylen Olsen (June) and Preston Olsen (Cheri); and his grandson, Casey Holm. 

Gordon and Ruby resided in the Idaho Falls area where they were married for 62 years and raised their eight children.  Gordon was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he was a High Priest, served on the High Council for seven years, and served a mission with his wife in Morristown, New Jersey.

Gordon’s hobbies were playing basketball, woodworking in his shop, carving wood with his pocketknife, fishing, and hunting elk—but mostly he just liked to walk in the mountains or anywhere for that matter. Gordon loved to watch his children play sports and other activities. We could always count on dad being in the stands no matter how far away the game was. Gordon loved to teach his children and grandchildren how to do the things he loved such as fishing, playing basketball, and solving a textbook engineering problem.
Gordon worked as an engineer at Idaho National Engineering Labs (INEL) for more than forty years where he worked on control systems for nuclear reactors and worked on engineering projects for the space shuttle as well as data management systems at Hill Airforce Base.

The family would like to thank the Nuclear Care nurses as well as the Hospice nurses and aides who took such good care of Gordon during these last several months.

Memorial services will be held on Friday, January 22, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. at Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home in South Jordan, Utah.  The burial will be Monday, January 25, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. at Fielding Memorial Park in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The memorial service and graveside service will be broadcast live at www.jenkins-soffe.com.