Eunice Loretta (Boldt) Olson passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on September 1, 2021, at Doctor's Hospital of Manteca, at the age of 81. She was a devoted wife, mother of five, grandmother of nine, and great-grandmother. She was dedicated to serving her church, school, and neighborhood communities everywhere she went. She will be remembered by the many lives she touched for her giving heart and fun-loving spirit.
Euni was born on April 10, 1940, in Austin, Minnesota, to Roy and Loretta Boldt, originally of Des Moines, Iowa. She was the baby girl of the family and adored her older brothers, Donald and David. During World War II, the family lived in Pacific Grove, California, where her father, an Army Chaplain, was stationed before his deployment to Europe. After the war, the family finally settled in Portland, Oregon.
Euni grew up as a "PK" (pastor's kid) in the church parsonage. Her father was a Conservative Baptist minister, and her mother was the church pianist. Euni was an obedient daughter, but with a spunky spirit. During her childhood in Portland, she loved to ride her bike around town and try to keep up with her big brothers. For her high school years, Euni moved alone with her parents to the rodeo town of Prescott, Arizona, where she played cornet in the school marching band and enjoyed church youth group activities.
Euni attended Westmont College in Montecito, California, where she met her future husband, Kenneth Olson, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and a teaching credential in 1962. The couple, who would have celebrated their 60 year wedding anniversary, wed on December 28, 1962. Euni began her career in education as a third grade teacher in Ojai, California. She enjoyed young married life in Corvallis, Oregon, where Ken pursued his graduate studies in biochemistry and she raised their three little girls. She was a resourceful homemaker who made ends meet with babysitting and typing.
Although Euni had led a rather sheltered life, she had an adventurous spirit, and embraced a move across the continent to New Jersey, where her husband began his career as a biochemist at Hoffman-La Roche. Shoveling snow and hearing strong New York accents were all new to her, but they found a church family where she served in the nursery, junior high youth group, and Bible quiz team.
When the family grew to seven, with five daughters, they bought a Victorian house in Caldwell, New Jersey, which Euni decorated in a historic style. Ever patriotic, Euni brought her daughters to Revolutionary War sites, helped decorate bicycles for town parades, and visited Washington, D.C., in costume, for the Bicentennial in 1976. She enjoyed traveling with the family and explored much of the U.S. in cross-country trips, visiting 49 states. She was also a good sport with tent camping trips!
Euni was a teacher and music lover who filled the family home with books, musical instruments, games, pets, and laughter. The house was always busy with baking, arts and crafts, sewing projects, homework assignments, and squealing guinea pigs. Her sewing machine was constantly humming in the family room as she made adorable matching outfits for her five daughters. Holidays were a delight with decorating and baking cookies. On May Day, she helped her daughters make baskets with picked flowers from their garden to distribute to neighbors. At Halloween time, she made bunny and pirate costumes. For every "birthday girl," she made an elaborate cake in the shape of whatever was requested, such as an elephant or a witch.
Euni had the gift of hospitality, and her philosophy was "the more the merrier." The Olson home was often filled with missionaries, school friends, neighborhood kids, visiting relatives, and others who needed housing. Euni loved to visit and play games. Her sense of humor was contagious and tears would run down her cheeks as everyone fell into uncontrollable laughter.
In 1979, the Olson family moved back west to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Ken was recruited to a biotech startup, Genentech. They lived first in Burlingame and then in Foster City. With all of her daughters in school, Euni returned to teaching, first as a reading aide at McKinley Elementary School. Recognizing that she had a special gift with young children, she returned to college for a certificate in Early Childhood Education. She found her forte as a preschool teacher at Westcott Preschool in San Mateo, in the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s, she volunteered at Holt Children's Services as a greeter of Korean babies, to facilitate international adoptions. She served in various churches in the choir, senior ministry, and Bible study groups.
In her retirement years, Euni enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, traveling internationally, and hosting friends old and new from near and far. She visited grandkids in British Columbia, Oregon, and Kentucky, helping out with childcare and hosting vacations in Palm Springs and other timeshares. She had a special relationship with each grandchild. She enjoyed large family reunions at her niece's Camp Jonah in Trout Lake, Washington. She traveled with Ken to European destinations, and they enjoyed cruises to Alaska and the Panama Canal, in addition to group tours. Her favorite cruises featured their favorite gospel groups. For their 50 year anniversary, they hosted a cruise to the Mexican Riviera with all of their daughters, spouses, and grandchildren. Euni kept active in church choir and senior ministry, and always enjoyed edifying weekend retreats at Mt. Hermon in the Santa Cruz mountains.
In 2010, Euni and Ken moved to Del Webb, a retirement community in Manteca, and became members of Quail Lakes Baptist Church in Stockton. At Del Webb, Euni joined the women's Bible study and continued her love of music as a member of the Woodbridge Singers and of "Strummin' Wonders," a performing ukelele band.
Although Euni began to slow down physically, her social network remained active. She kept in touch with everyone in her life, including high school friends, college roommates, church friends from across the country, visiting musicians, missionaries, and extended family, often hosting them when they came to town. Every year, without fail, she remembered hundreds of friends and family with handwritten birthday, anniversary, and holiday cards. She had the gift of encouragement and sent out "get well" cards, gifts, and thank-you notes.
Euni is now with her heavenly Father, and leaves a legacy of five college-educated daughters, all of whom married and had children. She impressed upon them her love of reading, education, and family.
Euni is survived by her loving husband, Ken; her daughters, Wendi Olson Crocker (Laramie), Tammi Foster (Jim, deceased), Lauri McInnis (Ron), Nanci Olson Gundry (Mark), and Marci Barta (Rob); her grandchildren, Lukas (Ada), Jordan, Jessica, Sam, Colin (Alby), Deanna, Blake, Kelly, and Peter; and great-granddaughter, Violette. She is preceded in death by her brother, Donald Boldt (Jo Anne), and survived by her brother, David Boldt (Betty).
A celebration of life service will be held at Quail Lakes Baptist Church in Stockton, on October 30, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. A reception and luncheon will follow at 12:45 p.m., at 1904 Quail Lakes Drive, Stockton, California 95207.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
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