George T. Olson II

George Theodore Olson II passed away peacefully Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at Allegheny General Hospital. He was 84. At the time of his passing, George resided in Sewickley with his wife, Barbara. They called Sewickley home for three decades. All who knew and loved George will remember him as a cheerful gentleman with a quiet Swedish soul and gentle mild manner. After graduating in 1957 from Washington-Lee (now Liberty) High School in the D.C. area of Virginia, George attended Carnegie Tech University (now Carnegie Mellon University), where he graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering. While there, he was a member and officer of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. He also graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, and Pardee RAND Graduate School, in Santa Monica with a PhD/ABD in Public Policy. His five-decade career spanned regional and urban planning, public health policy and private sector healthcare management. George's professional journey took him to overseas posts in India and Colombia. From October 1965-67 he was a junior planner with the Ford Foundation's Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organization where he was posted to rural Bhubaneswar, Orissa following three months in Calcutta. From January 1976 to July 1977 he worked for Project Hope in Cartagena, Colombia. Positions in state governments included New Mexico and West Virginia, where he worked under each state's health director. His career culminated with executive posts at First Health and the Long Term Care Group. Twice during the 1960's he served as an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. College summers were spent as a railroad surveyor for what is now Norfolk Southern. Trains and their routes and schedules were a lifelong interest. A favorite spot where the Olsons were seasonal residents for more than 10 years was Gulls Way, the home George designed and they had built on their 12 acres of RoseHead Peninsula along Canada's Atlantic Coastline in Kingsburg, Nova Scotia, south of Halifax and Lunenburg. They treasured the Canadian and American friendships formed there and the many visits by family and friends. George is survived by and will be sorely missed by his wife of nearly six decades, and their two deeply loved children and their families, James Theodore Olson, wife Stephanie, and daughter Kaitlyn, of Houston; and Krista Kamala Olson, husband Thomas Middleton, and son, Wade Middleton, of Brooklyn. He is also survived by his brother-in-law, John F. Spillane; a dear niece; two nephews; and several cousins. His passing was preceded by that of his sister, Harriett. The Olson family is immensely grateful for the outpouring of support, thoughts and prayers they've received from relatives, friends, former colleagues and neighbors since George's passing. This is a testimony to his legacy. The Sewickley Public Library was a place George enjoyed spending time and considered a valuable asset to the community.