Roll Call Tribute

Robert Coulter Olson, Jr.
March 26, 1947 - February 22, 2022

Robert Coulter Olson, Jr., a former Air Force and commercial airline pilot and longtime resident of Vacaville, died Feb. 22 at home after battling lung cancer for three years. He was 74.

An avid reader, lifelong learner and astute observer and follower of global affairs, Bob was a man of wide interests and self-propelled expertise, but he devoted his life above all to his wife and children. He committed full-on to everything he took up, and was truly the epitome of family first, and then “duty, honor, country.”

Born on March 26, 1947, to a military family at Ramey Air Force Base in Puerto Rico, Bob was the oldest of three sons born to Agnes Olson and Lt. Col. Robert Olson, Sr., a career pilot with the Air Force. The young family was able to call Ramey AFB home for Bob’s middle school and high school education. Bob found his inner athlete on the school football field and basketball courts at the Ramey base. He retained close friendships from those years, often attending reunions in multiple cities and in Puerto Rico to rekindle those ties.

 A lifelong history enthusiast, Bob received both his undergraduate degree and his master’s degree in history at Texas A&M University. In his case,  saying that he just “attended” A&M is an understatement. He was a “Gig ‘em!” AGGIE through and through. He was a proud member of the university’s Corps (ROTC) program, which led him at the end of his studies into the Air Force as an officer. The timing coincided with the Vietnam War.

After completing pilot training, Bob served on active duty for several years, later finishing his 20 years in the Air Force Reserves as a C-130 and C-5 pilot stationed at Travis Air Force Base with the 301st Military Airlift Squadron in Solano County. Lt. Col. Olson defended freedom in Vietnam, Panama, Desert Shield and Desert Storm: “Aim high, Fly-Fight-Win.”

By 1980, Bob had concurrently established a civilian career as a commercial airline pilot. While flying DC10s and DC8s for World Airways on temporary assignment in Constantine, Algeria, he met his future wife, Loretta Beamish, then a World Airways flight attendant. They married in 1981.

Bob went on to pilot DC-10 and 737 jetliners for American Airlines, finally retiring his wings in 2006.

While raising their two children in Vacaville, Bob was a fixture on the kids’ sports scene, coaching both basketball and baseball in the local Little League and at Notre Dame School. His work was largely planned around the kids’ sports schedules; he rarely missed a game and was the Number One cheerleader for his children on and off the sports fields.

In retirement, Bob often steered his and Loretta’s frequent travels to his most recent “area of interest” — ancient Rome, Civil War battlefields, Normandy, China. And although he thrived on his extensive career and family travels, he remained equally content at home, in the neighborhood walking his dog, participating at St. Mary’s Church, and supporting local Vacaville community events. It was always a “wonderful life.”

Bob is survived by his wife Loretta, a longtime educator in Solano County; his children Sean Olson and Erin Stover, and their spouses Channing Olson and Jason Stover; and a wide circle of in-laws and friends. He was predeceased by his brother Jeff Olson.

God-speed and happy landing – Sir!