Obituary of Roberta Ann Olsen

Roberta Olsen, aged 90, of Coralville, formerly of Latimer and Nevada, passed away Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at her home. A memorial service will take place at 11:00 a.m., Monday, February 5, 2024, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service.

Roberta Ann Olsen was born January 5, 1934, in Oelwein, Iowa, to parents Donald and Lois (Carvey) Kalm. After graduating high school Roberta earned her teaching degree from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. She held several teaching jobs before completing her bachelor's degree at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, then taught school at Royal, Iowa. In the following years she was a substitute teacher. Later she worked various jobs until she stopped working in 1982.

She married Norman Olsen, the love of her life, on August 10, 1956, at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Bremerton, Washington. The couple had known each other for their entire lives. They even went to the same picnics every summer growing up as children. Roberta and Norman moved a few times before settling in Nevada, Iowa, where they lived from 1978 to 2002. After that they moved North to Latimer, Iowa, where they lived until 2017 when they relocated to Coralville.

Roberta spent her free time quilting, sewing, reading, and painting. She was also an avid gardener. She loved spending time in the garden and even had a huge paper map that she would use every winter to plot out her garden and plan any new additions for the coming year.

She was a kind person and a loving mother. She will be missed dearly by those lucky enough to have known her.

Roberta’s surviving family includes her husband, Norman; son, Mathew (LuAnn) Olsen; daughter, Alice Olsen; grandchildren, Peter Olsen and Tom (Kelsie) Olsen; and great-grandchildren, Eloise Olsen, Clyde Olsen, and Sylvia Olsen.

She was preceded in death by two of her children, Glee Olsen Oliver and David Olsen, her parents, and by her sister Betty Kalm.