Fisherman And Pastor Kenneth Olson Found Happiness In Adventure

Kenneth Norbert Olson was not merely a fisherman, but a fisher of men.

As an Alaskan commercial fisherman with his own boat, he indulged his love of the outdoors.

And as a Lutheran pastor skipper, he traveled from Whidbey Island and the San Juans to Wrangell Island in Alaska, as he explored the unmapped territory of people's souls while feeding his own.

"He was extremely easygoing and fun-loving, and left us with a legacy of optimism," said his daughter, Joanne Chase of North Bend.

Mr. Olson died Dec. 26 when he fell through thin ice while skating on a lake near Meyers Chuck, Alaska. He was 65.

"His death joyfully dramatized how he chose to live," said his brother, Tim Olson of Edmonds.

Born into a Lutheran minister's family in St. Cloud, Minn., Mr. Olson learned to swim, ski, fish and skate early and well. He continued enjoying such pastimes when his family moved to Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1943. He also worked summers as a deckhand, patrolling commercial fish traps on his family's cruiser.

After the family moved to Tacoma in 1946, he became an all-city hockey star and champion skier.

Adventuresome to a fault, Mr. Olson worked his way through Pacific Lutheran University by fishing in Alaska. He served in the Marines, finished his studies in zoology at PLU, then attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., where he was ordained as a minister.

Graduate-school studies in philosophy, with a focus on Soren Kierkegaard, were cut short when money ran out. So he took a call to serve two rural churches on Whidbey Island, where he ran Bible camps.

Studies aboard a boat followed, and he became the pastor-skipper of the 68-foot "Christian," a sea-going Bible camp on the Straits of Juan de Fuca and the Straits of Georgia.

He returned briefly to pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Burien where, after Sunday services, he took young people skiing.

Divorce from his first wife brought changes; he resigned the Burien ministry and sailed for Sitka.

But his life came back together when he was reunited with his original boat, the Christian: Lutheran Association of Missionary Pilots bought it and hired him as missionary skipper. He also remarried, and the hamlets and villages along the Wrangell coast became his new parish.

"He taught us that you're not better than anyone else, and to enjoy your life every moment," said his daughter. "He left the world doing what made him happy, with no regrets."

Other survivors include his wife of eight years, Nancy Olson, of Wrangell; his sons Dan Olson, Renton; and Mike Olson, Seattle; his brothers Dave Olson, North Bend; and Gerald Olson, Elon College, N.C.; and six grandchildren.

Services are 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6, in Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 215 Mukilteo Blvd., Everett.

A memorial fund in Mr. Olson's name has been established for the LAMP Christian Ministry and the continued work of the M.V. Christian, c/o Island of Faith Lutheran Church, Box 2358, Wrangell, AK, 9992