FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson) 

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Seiners Get Second Day with 2 Areas to Fish
27 Mar 2024 14:46

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    The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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By Sentinel Staff
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Kodiak Alutiiq Museum Getting New Attention
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House Hearing on Inmate Deaths Halted
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By CLAIRE STREMPLE
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27 Mar 2024 12:34

By NATHANIEL HERZ
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March 27, 2024, Police Blotter
27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 26
At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]

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27 Mar 2024 12:25

Big Rigs Sought
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Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
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By Sentinel Staff
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House Votes to Broaden Rules For Review Panel Memb...
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By NATHANIEL HERZ
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Faster Internet Speeds In Rural Schools OK'd
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Native Words Gathered In Environment Studies
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By YERETH ROSEN
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March 26, 2024, Police Blotter
26 Mar 2024 13:49

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
March 25
At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Community Happenings
26 Mar 2024 13:48

Vietnam-Era Vets
Invited to Lunch,
Commemoration
American Legion Post 13 will host a luncheon 1-3 p.m.  [ ... ]

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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Projects on the Table For Cruise Tax Funds
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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
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Braves Take Second at State after Close Loss
25 Mar 2024 15:23

By Sentinel Staff
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By Sentinel Staff
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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Wayne Olson

Wayne Rudy “Oly” Olson

Wayne Rudy “Oly” Olson, whose sense of fun was enjoyed by the whole community, passed away with his family by his side on Tuesday, Aug. 30, in Seattle, Wash., following a lengthy battle with interstitial lung disease.

He was born on Sept. 12, 1951, in Tacoma, Wash., the son of Clara and  Rudy Olson. He lived there until 1973, when he traveled by ferry to Sitka with his good friend, Kenny Mahoskey.

He worked for Sitka Sound Seafoods during that summer, and returned the next summer to begin his career with Samson Tug and Barge Company. He worked there until his retirement in 2013.

He married Linda in 1978 and they had two children, Alicia and Casey.

Linda had moved next door to Wayne in Tacoma in 1966. Over the next 10 years, they became best friends. They loved to go “trail riding” in Wayne’s Studebaker or jeep, backpacking in the Olympic Rain Forest, and going to music concerts. Linda joined him in Sitka in 1976. Their daughter Alicia was born in 1979 and son Casey in 1982. As a family, they enjoyed Sunday morning hikes, weekend camp outs, dressing up for parades and making a big deal over the holidays. 

Wayne loved a parade. You might remember him as the “pooper scooper” during the Christmas Parade; as a giant halibut for the Alaska Day Parade; or as someone running with a giant pair of scissors. 

He loved to dress up. Any occasion for costumes has always been an Olson favorite. He could spend weeks working on minute details. He dressed as Scrooge to ring the Salvation Army bell on Christmas Eve for many years. 

He was a prankster. He loved to do something in secret with the hopes of never being discovered. He never took credit, just satisfaction in the reactions. You could always see the sly little smirk forming and know it made his day making someone else’s. If you have found something “odd” tucked in your garden, car or home, you might have been secretly visited by Wayne. 

He loved to have fun and with his creative ideas and dry sense of humor, he has left a wealth of memories and stories to share. He had a way of sneaking into your heart. 

“You will be missed by many, Wayne,” family said. 

He was preceded in death by his mother, Clara, and father, Rudy.

He is survived by his wife Linda; his daughter Alicia and her husband Eric; son Casey and his finance’ Wendi and their daughter Clara; his sister, Sue;  Aunt Grace, numerous cousins and many dear friends. 

A celebration of Wayne’s life is planned for Saturday, Oct. 1, in Sitka. The time and location will be announced soon.

“Please consider wearing a ‘Wayne inspired’ outfit and sharing your favorite Wayne tale,” a family member said. 

“Wayne’s family would like to thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown us throughout Wayne’s illness and since his passing,” the family wrote. “We’re so very blessed to live in Sitka.”

 

 

 

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....

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