Gaylan Olson, 60, of Boise passed away on 12/30/15 at a local hospital with his wife Judy and stepdaughter Meg close by his side, after a week long battle fighting for his life.
Gaylan was born to Merlin and Verla Olson here in Boise on 1/26/55. Gaylan was the second youngest out of the five children. He graduated from Capital High School, and went to BSU for his certificate in truck driving.
He worked for Idaho power for many years; he worked at the Swan Falls Dam for most of that time. During his time working at the Dam was when he first met Judy. They dated off and on for many years. After that Gaylan decided to make use of his certificate and got a job doing long haul truck driving. He got tired of being out on the road all the time and away from home, family and friends.
Towards the end of his truck driving career Gaylan bumped into Judy again. She would house sit for him and take care of his crazy, jealous and very possessive Siamese cat Blue. Gaylan and Judy’s relationship started getting serious; he decided that finding a job locally so he could be home every night was what he wanted. He worked at some warehouses and some local trucking companies over the last several years.
Gaylan and Judy made plans to get married, like any other soon to be wife Judy wanted to make sure Gaylan wouldn’t forget their anniversery. They planned to get married that day after Judy’s birthday, which happens to be the day after a national holiday!! If Gaylan forgot all three of them he was going to be in big trouble. Luckily for him he never forgot, they got married on July 6, 2002.
Gaylan’s interests were with CB and HAM radios; he had so many antenas on the house it looked like he was trying to contact Mars. Gaylan is a recognized member of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), he also enjoyed fixing his and Judy’s cars himself, and he took much pride in doing yard work. He would spend hours doing yard work no matter how tired he was, it was his “thing” and he loved doing it.
Some people that knew Gaylan might say he was stubborn and pig headed, but he was also a good friend to many, and he loved Judy with all his heart. Like most people he had a soft side, he would only show that side to Judy, He loved her and wouldn’t change a single thing they had been through, the good or the bad because they made it through those times together. There is one more person that got to see Gaylans soft side, his granddaughter Pyper. He would get down on his hands and knees and chase her around the living room wihile barking like a dog, and confuse her with all the different animal sounds he could make. She is the only one that could get into his M&M stash and not get an ear full, same way with his cookies (not even Judy could have a cookie without getting an ear full). Seeing him give Pyper gear hugs as she was getting ready to leave from a visit was something you didn’t expect to see, or when she would see him at work and start yelling “grandpaaaaaa” as she ran up to him and gave him big hugs surprised many people.
Gaylan will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be held Saturday Jan. 9th at 11am, at the LDS Church at 4921 N. Mitchell St. Boise, 83704. The family is requesting in lieu of flowers to make donations to help with expenses of the hospital. Anyone wishing to contribute any offering on behalf of Gaylan can do so by contacting Judy’s daughter Meg after the memorial service or by email at meg.051808@gmail.com. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on Gaylan’s memorial webpage by using the comments section below.
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