January 11, 1952 - September 29, 2021
On Wednesday September 29th, our brother Terry Vance Olson passed away peacefully at Cairnsmore Place.
Terry was born on January 11,1952 at King's Daughter's Hospital in Duncan.
Predeceased by parents Nels and June (Eckert) Olson, he is survived by his three sisters and brothers-in-law, Colleen Olson (Dennis Laforge), Jody (Richard Friday) and Becky (Stan Bennett). He had one nephew Ole Ehrstien (Nicole) and five nieces Larissa Nelson (Kirk), Jill Walters (Adam), Hailey Friday (Shane), Katelyn Bennett, Jocelyn Bennett (Felix) and 8 great nieces and nephews.
Terry lived most of his life in Lake Cowichan. He loved his town and the people in it.
He was a very proud lifetime member of the Lake Cowichan Lion's Club and also belonged to the Royal Canadian Branch #210 and was a past member of the LC Elks and Scandinavian Club.
Ter Bear loved music especially the band the Eagles, the LC band Eagle Eyes and the Celtic Ladies.
He played the maracas and had an amazing sense of rhythm. The band Switch would let him play with them when they were at the Riverside Inn and he also played sometimes with the Miller family's band Fascination. He especially enjoyed entertaining the campers at the Kiwanis Camp on Cowichan Lake. Our thanks to both of the bands for letting Terry join in. It was a high lite for him and he always looked forward to it.
Terry had a great childhood and teen years living at our resort the Castaway. This is where he met so many wonderful families including the Briggs, Reids, DeGoodes and Millards.
Through Tilman Briggs he became an honorary member of the James Bay Athletic Association. He loved hanging out with the team and even travelled with them to Montreal. What a trip the was for him.
He spent many days out on the lake in our aluminum boat and went hunting with his good friend Danny Carnell.
After finishing high school at LCSS in 1970, Terry went to the Goodwill Training Centre in Victoria and took a Custodial and Maintenance course. Through a close family friend Dale Weaver, he was hired at the TW McKenzie Logging Co.(eventually to become Pacific Logging) where he cleaned the crummies and shops and would
sometimes go out with the mechanics and help them with fixing the equipment in the woods. His fellow co-workers were so patient with him. Our family has always been so appreciative of how they made Terry feel a real part of the company and watched over him, especially his buddy Jack Nahirnick.
He also enjoyed bowling for many years and had several trophies that he was proud of. He played darts at the Legion every week and was a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys and the racing boat Miss Budweiser.
Ter Bear had a keen interest in fighter jets and the Navy Seals. He loved to read about them and collected many books and magazines, he also liked books and documentaries about eagles and knew quite a bit about them.
Terry always looked forward to his one Budweiser every day and was pretty good at finding ways to get just one more if he could.
He had a couple of favourite dogs in his life, one was Corky and the other was Buddy. He really liked it when Becky would bring Buddy Boy in for a visit to Cairnsmore.
Terry had a very kind and generous heart and donated to many charities. He even took his three sisters and our Dad on a cruise to Alaska in 2010. He travelled to Hawaii with the Lion's Club in the 1970's and had a memorable trip but his absolute all time favourite place to visit was his home away from home in Mackenzie, B.C.
He was treated like royalty by his second family Norm, Cary, Rylan, Jaela and Kale.
They were so good to Ter Bear taking him camping, to concerts and having annual block parties in his honour.
The whole Macktown gang are forever in our hearts as they gave Terry the most wonderful holidays and memories.
Another special friend in Terry's life was Dave Whiskin who always picked him up and brought him home when he wanted to go to a party, dance or the Kinsmen stags and he also looked forward to his road trips up Island with his good friend Tasha.
Terry had several nicknames but most knew him as Ter Bear, Snore, Odie or Swede.
He had a wonderful life growing up in Lake Cowichan and had many friends and family members that watched over him.
Most that knew him will remember his impromptu and heartfelt speeches that he gave at weddings, funerals and family gatherings.
Our family would especially like to thank the staff at Cairnsmore Place for their patience, humour and wonderful care of Terry.
We would like to thank everyone for their kind words of sympathy and support in Terry's passing.
A celebration of Ter Bear's life will be held when we can all safely be together again.