Dr. Craig Arthur OLSON

1945 - 2018

OLSON, Dr. Craig Arthur Craig Olson went "home" to be with His Lord and Savior Jesus on November 27, 2018, dying peacefully at Hospice House South of Spokane. It was the perfect "duck day", blustery and stormy, his favorite for watching the ducks and geese migrate through Spokane on their way south for the winter. Born February 2, 1945 in Dayton Ohio to Dr. O.C.Olson and Evelyn Sanger Olson, Craig spent most of his life in his beloved Spokane attending Wilson grade school and Lewis and Clark High School with his two brothers, Mark and Eric. He loved his growing up years of swimming and baseball at Comstock, ice skating at Cannon Hill and neighborhood friends and fun on 25th and 26th streets. He was a proud LC Tiger enjoying ASB and football notably and graduating from there to attend WSU where he continued playing football for two years. Leadership opportunities continued for him as a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity where he formed deep and lasting friendships. There he also met his favorite Cougar, Barbie Vaughan on a "blind date", as he loved to tell the story. They were amazed to find out that they both grew up with Golden Retrievers in their families, a tradition they continued throughout their marriage. Accepted to the U of W Medical School, Craig and Barb married in 1968 and spent time in Seattle, San Francisco, Toppenish (Indian Health Service), and Yakima, completing Craig's degrees in Medicine and Board Certification in Family Practice before returning to Spokane in 1976. There Craig became the head physician of Deaconess Hospital's first Emergency Department solidifying his love for emergency medicine. It was difficult to leave this exciting new field of medicine, but soon another new opportunity presented itself. Craig became the managing partner in pioneering the development of three Urgent Care Clinics in Spokane, a natural outcome of his interest in providing expedient primary care to families in Spokane. Given this background, as a semi-retired physician he was able to serve the communities of Dayton and Odessa, Washington doing locum tenens, a perfect finish to his long career and a job he relished for the opportunities to connect with people in a small town, rural setting. Craig often said that he wanted to be most remembered for being a good husband and father. To that end he fully devoted his heart and mind. Craig and Barbie were married for 50 years and delighted in doing marriage ministry together. His favorite saying was, "Be willing to work as hard at your marriage as anything else you do in life." Together they had three children, CJ, Erika and Kristina. Family first was Craig's motto and so life was filled with family activities and outings almost always including the love for WSU, sports and the out of doors. The Chevy Suburban, with its license plate "5 Cougs", made many trips to Philleo Lake, Pullman, Priest Lake, Black Butte Ranch, and Oregon and Washington destinations to visit family and friends. Outside of his family Craig loved hunting, fishing, the Cougs, duck blind building, hockey and his Golden Retrievers. He was particularly proud of his eight years on the Varsity Tap Line in Ham on Regal productions at Ferris. He served his community as a team physician for Ferris football and also for the Spokane Chiefs indulging in another passion Sports Medicine. Craig is survived by his wife Barbie, his children C.J. Olson (Robin), Erika Mariani (Mark) and Kristina Northcutt (Mike), his grandchildren, and his brother Dr. Mark Olson (Susan) and Dr. Eric Olson (Sheri). He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. A memorial service for Craig will be held Monday, December 17th at 1:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church, 318 S. Cedar St., Spokane, WA 99201. The family would prefer that In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to the WSU Foundation for the (to be established) Dr. Craig Olson Athletics Endowment, PO Box 641927, Pullman, WA 99164-1927 or the Union Gospel Mission, 1224 E. Trent Ave., Spokane, WA 99202 or the charity of your choice. Thank you goes to the many care givers Craig had in the last months of his life. They cared for him as he would have cared for them. It was a blessing to see. Special thanks to those who served him in his last weeks and days at Guardian Angel Homes in Liberty Lake and Hospice of Spokane South. Forever we are grateful. He was so proud of his ten grandchildren: Jeremiah, Gabe, Nate, Ethan, Luke, Kellen, Zeke, Torren, Kate and Jake and always had some wisdom to share with them about "getting along in this world", forever the teacher and coach that he would have been had he not pursued medicine. Craig's faith in God was simple and practical; he felt that his ministry was to his family, patients and friends. He was a loyal and steadfast man who loved life and the opportunity to help others. He will be greatly missed.