February 14, 1931 - June 20, 2018
This photo pretty much captures John Olsen - his positive, let's move forward approach, his political involvement, and his sense of humour.
As he noted in his memoirs, John had a "peripatetic career". At 16, he started one of his all-time favourite jobs as a telegraph clerk at the beautiful Bamfield Cable Station. This was followed by a few, not so idyllic, years in the Canadian army.
Although he had dropped out of school in grade 8, John later finished high school and in the radical days of the 70s he completed his master's degree at Simon Fraser University (on the impact of information technologies on social values).
At Simon Fraser he met Donna Moffatt, his beloved partner, and together they raised a blended family that at one time included eight teenagers. In the mid-1980s, John and Donna moved to Errington to start the Unicorn Farm cooperative. John was involved in education, local politics, and community economic development throughout his life.
He was a member of the District 69 Living Wage for Families Coalition fighting for a living wage (not a minimum wage) for BC. He helped to establish Parksville's Oceanside Health Centre, was a founding member of the Oceanside Coalition for Strong Communities, a prolific contributor to newspapers and progressive journals, and an avid supporter of the Leap Manifesto.
We have lost a wise elder. Despite the setbacks he faced in his life, he always believed that things could and would be better. John is much missed by his family, friends and fellow citizens in Errington and Parksville, and elsewhere in the province where many of the improvements he fought for are now in place.