Constance "Connie" Olivier

Constance (Connie) Olivier

1946-1979

Constance (Connie) Olivier, born May 5, 1946, passed away gently during the early morning hours of January 24, 2026 at the age of 79 with husband Kenneth by her side. Born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Francis (Frank) Malloy and Constance (Connie) Malloy, Connie was an only child. She is survived by her husband Kenneth Olivier of Conroe, TX; sons Kevin Olivier of Vancouver, WA and Steven Olivier of Seattle, WA; daughter-in-law Uli Olivier of Seattle, WA; grandson Evan Olivier of Seattle, WA; grand-daughter Ivy Olivier of Seattle, WA.

Connie moved a lot as a child because her father was in the US Navy and finally ended up in Austin, Texas, where she finished her senior year of high school and then attended the University of Texas at Austin. Majoring in Math and English, she tried studying Music for a while and use her voice as her instrument. She loved the singing, but felt at a disadvantage to other students who had studied music for a much longer time, so she returned to Math. It suited her more because she always enjoyed solving a puzzle, playing games or proving a theorem. Connie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Math in 1968.

Connie met her future husband, Kenneth (Ken), because he was the only person that was awake at the fraternity house on a Saturday morning after a big party the night before. She was looking for her accompanist for a singing assignment who failed to show up at the agreed time, but he was asleep along with the other fraternity brothers. She did manage to get the singing practice done, but also met her husband-to-be who opened the door, but did not know it at the time.

A few weeks later Ken called to ask her out on a date and of course she "remembered" who he was (not really). Evidently the date was a successful start to the relationship. She later recalled "he was a good kisser." They were married in December 1967 in Austin, with her music class accompanist as the organist for the wedding. Connie graduated UT in 1968, whereas Ken was a slower learner (electrical engineering) completed his studies in 1969. After multiple job interview trips, Ken accepted a job at Radiation Inc. and they moved to Melbourne, Florida to start their married life.

Connie had two children, both boys (Kevin and Steven) and she was a stay-at-home mom while Ken went out to conquer the world of high tech. The family lived in Palm Bay and Melbourne Florida during the very active part of the NASA moon landing program, with Connie getting involved in the Indian River Players theatrical group, and later, both joining Harbor City Volunteer Ambulance Squad which provided ambulance service to the entire southern half of Brevard County, about 50000 people. Connie could be found behind the dispatch desk where she sent out the ambulance crews and her iron rule made sure the crews did not rush out the door before they new exactly where the call was located. Ken eventually became responsible operations of the ambulance squad of about 120 people.

Connie and family moved to Huntsville, Alabama in 1973 when Ken took a job with GTE Automatic Electric Company, where he designed test equipment for the telephone assembly lines. Connie continued pursuing her theatrical interest by joining the Huntsville Little Theater group and had a leading role in productions of Carousel and Barefoot in the Park. Connie and the next-door neighbor both had two children about the same age, so baby sitting proved not to be a problem. The family also bought a used 18-foot travel trailer and slowly started to learn the wonders and trials of camping. They also bought a fishing boat, since the lake was always calling, however the fish were not too cooperative and stayed away.

The family moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1977 when Ken took a job at Northern Telecom to build up an electronic telephone manufacturing capability in an existing mechanical assembly plant. They moved into a neighborhood with lots of children, had a creek behind the house (at least when it rained), a wooded area where the kids could ride their bikes and explore. Her expanding activities included driving to and from swim classes, helping at school, and continuing her community theater interests. Ken preceded Connie to Nashville and stayed in the trailer until a house could be found. Connie stayed in Huntsville to finalize selling the house and finally all of the family and vehicles made it to Music City. While in Nashville, Ken travelled extensively to Canada and the US, so Connie continued to be involved in Kevin and Seven's parenting and development.

The family moved to the Houston area when Ken accepted a job at Hewlett-Packard Co. in 1979. They moved to a smaller house in Missouri City, in an area that turned out to be full of children of about the same age. The parents all seemed to get along, frequently having parties after the kids were corralled and playing together. They also remember the Friday night Adult Only swimming pool parties. Connie and Ken attended some community theater, but alas, the parenting and work responsibilities made it more difficult for Connie to get back on stage. Connie eventually found herself in the church choir, church council and other activities. Kevin began swimming in the US Swim program, and many weekends found the family, swimming and non-swimming, around a pool during swim meets. Steven was occupied with the world of Legos, some swim, T-ball and soccer. As the "kids" continued to grow and need more space, the family considered moving into a larger house. When the kids were an appropriate age, the family moved to a larger house into Mission Bend in Alief, Connie began working to help with the mortgage payments, and the family spent time putting their "stuff" into the house, maintaining a corner lot, building an insulated "music room" for the loud guitars and drums, etc.

Connie worked in a variety of jobs but never considered herself as having a career. She eventually took jobs at the Wyatt Company, then K Corp, American General, and AIG (after they bought AG). After Kevin and Steven moved out of the house on their own, and Connie was fully vested in AG/AIG's retirement plan, Connie officially retired. Later, the couple sold the house and moved from the suburbs into a condo near the Galleria. This was a convenient location to both of their jobs at the time, a reduction in outside maintenance needs and closer to performing arts venues downtown. In 2010, they started looking for an RV and purchased a Newmar gas motorhome. Less than 2 years later, they purchased a larger Newmar diesel pusher motorhome. They travelled to every state in the Union, toured every state capitol building, visited many state and national parks, went to lots of rallies and had a great time. In 2016, they moved again to a 55+ community in Conroe, which would provide a more active social life, more friends and less traffic since the Galleria Area was booming. Ken had some medical problems in 2023 on the last portion of that year's trip, getting him a helicopter ride to a hospital in Colorado Springs where he spent 2 ½ months recovering. This was on top of Connie's being told shortly before that she had developed Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (idiopathic translates to "we don't know why you have this condition"). They both concluded now was the time to hang up the keys to the motorhome and the attending annual maintenance, repairs, operational expenses, insurance, storage space rental. They enjoyed their life wandering in the RV and several cruises on ocean and rivers, but they were ready to "settle down" again.

Ken's condition improved from 2024-2025, but Connie's became worse during the same time interval. In April 2025, Connie began using supplemental oxygen, first at night, then during the day as well. She did enjoy playing cards weekly, going to the community parties, and even participated in some of the "theatrical" activities in the community, but she had to be aware that her cough might start or get out of breath at unexpected times.

Connie required emergent medical treatment in the hospital on November 16, 2025, was discharged to skilled nursing on December 5 and was discharged from there on December 19 so she could spend Christmas at home and visit with son Steven. By the time her scheduled January 5, 2026 appointment with her pulmonologist was imminent, it was apparent she was not in a condition to travel to the doctor's office, so the appointment turned into a phone call. She was advised that it was time to seriously consider hospice care, since pulmonary fibrosis is progressive and non-reversible. Connie went under hospice care on January 5, received excellent caregivers from both hospice as well as senior home care helpers. She passed away on the morning of January 24, 2026.

The family is planning to have a small celebration of life at their home for family and friends in the near future. Details are pending at this time.