March 19, 1941 ~ May 29, 2026

I am sad to let you all know my Harry Olson passed away 5/29/26 here at home with me, after being bedridden for 3 years from sepsis.    He was the love of my life, and never raised his voice at me once.  I had his celebration of life recorded. Over 100 people attended .  He had a 4 H Club for disabled children and many of them performed in his celebration of life!

Harry M. Olson Jr., 85, of West Sand Lake died May 29
at home, surrounded by loving family and friends.
Born March 19, 1941 in Hempstead, NY, to Emily and
Harry M. Olson Sr, Harry left Wantagh High School
early to join the Army. He learned to fly as a young
man, eventually obtaining his commercial pilot’s
license and flight instructor certification. As a
volunteer at Red Bird Mission in Kentucky in the 1970s,
he took the local children for airplane rides, much to
their delight.

Mission work was a priority in Harry’s life, as he built roads in the mountains of
Haiti with a men’s missionary group, constructed Methodist churches in Somerset,
KY, and later served with Border Angels, taking food and medicine into Mexico.
These endeavors and many more were a result of his love for the Lord.
His life-long love of aviation led Harry to the love of his life while working as a
flight instructor at Poestenkill Airport in 1982. Melva Story signed up for lessons;
they married within the year. They moved to Texas, where Harry graduated from
Texas Technical Institute with a degree in computer maintenance and from Rice
Aviation with a degree in aviation mechanics. In 1987, he and Melva and their
growing family returned and built their current home in West Sand Lake.
Harry earned his RN from Russell Sage Junior College in 1993 and worked at
various hospitals including Albany Med, Amsterdam Memorial, and the former St.
Clare’s in Schenectady. In 2003 Harry and Melva, also an RN, moved to western
Alaska to live and work with the Yupik people in Bethel. The natives loved him as a
nurse, Melva recalled. “He was so compassionate when people were dying.”
The couple returned home in 2007, and Harry retired from nursing but did not
stop serving others. In 2008, he and Melva started the Sunshine Club, a 4-H club for
children with special needs. Harry taught the children how to make maple syrup
and he was a great supporter of their talent shows.
Melva had told Harry that she would always take care of him, and she made
good on that promise as his health declined the past three years. While Harry’s
health issues were challenging, the joy and love in their household remained. In
October 2025, when Harry received a medal from the Army inscribed, “Cold War,
Promoting Peace and Stability.” At 84, Harry was thrilled to become a high school
graduate. While he had earned his GED many years ago, he had never had a high
school graduation. He donned his son’s cap and gown and Averill Park High School
administrators presented him a diploma in his living room. A kind, adventurous
man, Harry lived in many places throughout his life and made other people’s lives
better in each one. Melva recalled that she and Harry never argued and that he
never raised his voice at her.