Carlene K. Olsen-Garza's Obituary
Obituary for Carlene’ Kaye Olsen-Garza
Carlene was born in Billings, Montana on September 13, 1957. She took great pride in having been born on a Friday the 13th. Her parents were Carl Lambert Olsen of Belfry, Montana and her mother, Dorothy A. Cammock of Joliet, Montana. She is the second of two children, with an older brother Terry L Olsen. She is preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy; her aunt Selma and grandparents.
As a child, Carlene’ lived in Worden and Ballantine, Montana, but called Laurel home. She attended elementary schools in each of these towns, but completed her primary and secondary education in Laurel where she graduated from Laurel High School in 1976.
Carlene’ was married to Robert David Paul on July 3, 1976 in Billings, Montana. Carlene’ and Robert lived in Laurel and celebrated the birth of their first born, Nicholas Brandon Paul in July, 1978. They moved to Bothell, Washington and added to their family with the births of Lyndsey Carl Paul in August 1981 and Anna Arlene’ Paul in December 1987.
Carlene’ remarried in March 2000 to Joseph Anthony (Tony) Garza and lived in Puyallup, Washington until her passing. Carlene’ and Tony did not have children, but enjoyed the blending of their families with the addition of his daughter Lauren N. Hosford. Carlene’ is survived by her father Lambert; her husband, Joseph Anthony; her children Nicholas, Lyndsey and Anna; six grand-children, Kayley, Keegan, Issac and Roman Paul; and Connor Rataezyk-Hosford and Liam Hosford; her brother Terry and her beloved standard poodles Sophie and Fynn.
She loved the outdoors, especially the mountains, lakes and valleys of her beloved Montana; had a fascination with the ocean, but a fear of being swept away by the surf thanks to a prank by her brother on their first visit to the ocean. She enjoyed all genera’s of music, but fancied herself a late blooming hippie of sorts and found great joy in the folk and rock music of the sixties and seventies. She loved to laugh at a good joke (even if off color a bit) baking, tending to her gardens and yard, dancing, singings, and take road trips, especially to her Montana. She believed in extending a hand to strangers, striking up a conversation with people she’s met along the way; loved anyone who showed her kindness and sympathy to those who didn’t and she loved all the animals that crossed her path during her life.
Her family wants to thanks the staff at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) and UW Medical Center who treated and cared for her during her long battle with cancer, especially the nurses and technicians in the imaging and infusion departments at SCCA. We also want to thank all of her friends for their support and Franciscan Hospice for their wonderful care. We will miss her greatly!
A memorial service and Celebration of Life will be held at 10:00 am, Thursday, November 6th at Mt. View Memorial Park in Lakewood, WA. Remembrances may be shared at mountainviewtacoma1.reachlocal.net. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Carlene’s favorite charity at http://www.chimpsanctuaryNW.org.
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