Reg Olson had a beautiful voice. For years he preached as a Methodist minister (in United Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational churches), taught (as a sociology professor and campus minister), sang (in his beautiful baritone voice), advocated and persuaded (as a social worker and a community leader), told stories (as an author), and loved many (as a son, cousin, nephew, husband, brother-in-law, father, uncle, grandfather, and friend). On February 6, due to changes in that incredible voice, doctors discovered a brain tumor. Medical professionals in Cincinnati and Cleveland ran tests and offered advice, and laser surgery was scheduled at the Cleveland Clinic. The procedure on March 7 resulted in only a biopsy, due to the tumor’s growth, which was effecting speech and mobility. On March 9 Reg and his wife, Barbara, returned to their home, staying in the rehab center of their full spectrum-of-care retirement community. Many family members and friends visited over the following six weeks and shared stories and love. Reg passed away peacefully, in his wife’s arms, on April 23, 2017.

Reginald Dennis Olson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, (Cuyahoga County) on September 11, 1942, to Chester Olson and Susanne Kutzko Olson, a steelworker and a homemaker. Reg was born at Deaconess Hospital and grew up in Cleveland and Parma, Ohio. At Parma High School, he played clarinet, ran cross-country, and played the lead in “Finian's Rainbow” during his senior year. In the fall of 1960 he headed to Ohio State University, where he became active in the Wesley Foundation Methodist Student Fellowship, created a social science major (in Sociology, Psychology, and History), and rode the midnight bus to Washington, DC, to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington in 1963. He married his college sweetheart, Barbara Lynn Warner, and worked at Lazarus, at the OSU Library, and for Columbus’s Goodale Park while completing his bachelor’s degree. In 1964 Reg and Barbara and their one-year-old daughter headed to Chicago, where Reg completed seminary at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, while serving two Methodist churches in Kingston and Herbert and learning the ways of Midwestern small-town and farm life. He was ordained in the Rock River (now Northern Illinois) Conference of the United Methodist Church. Growing increasingly active in issues of peace and justice, Reg and Barb and two daughters returned to Ohio State in 1968 for Reg to earn his master’s and doctorate in Sociology, focusing on the Sociology of Religion. His dissertation addressed the sociological impact of space travel on the clergy. The family was active at North Broadway United Methodist Church (Columbus). Reg also served interim pastorates at St. Andrew United Methodist Church (Gahanna, Ohio), Plymouth United Church of Christ (Newark, Ohio), and churches in Clearport and Stoutsville, Ohio.

With two daughters and a new son, Reg and Barb headed to Muskingum College (New Concord, Ohio) in 1971 to join the faculty, teaching a generation of Sociology majors and leading winter-interim travel classes to Europe to study the Reformation and Christian Ecumenical Movement. The family joined College Drive United Presbyterian Church. Reg provided interim “pulpit supply” to churches throughout southeastern Ohio (Woodsfield United Church of Christ, Neffs and Shadyside United Presbyterian Churches near Wheeling, and United Presbyterian churches in Rix Mills and Cumberland). In 1979 he studied at the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland. Reg continued his career as a professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College (Buckhannon, West Virginia), where he served as a faculty advisor to many student organizations. The family joined First United Methodist Church (Buckhannon). Reg initiated the West Virginia Wesleyan Peace Award on behalf of the college and presented the a ward to recipients including President Jimmy Carter (for his Camp David Peace Accord between Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, 1985), Senator Jennings Randolph (for his work to establish the United States Institute of Peace, 1985), The United Methodist Council of Bishops (for their Pastoral Letter, “In Defense of Creation,” 1986), and Retired Admiral Eugene Carroll Jr. (of the Center for Defense Information, 1987). He earned a fifth degree, a Master of Social Work at West Virginia University.

As their children left for college, Reg and Barbara shifted careers and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Reg began his tenure as the Director of the Campus Ministry Center (now the Interfaith Center) at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), where he worked diligently for peace and justice initiatives, mediation and conflict resolution practices, and interfaith understanding. They were active in First United Methodist Church (Oxford), Conflict Resolution Services of Oxford, Oxford Citizens for Peace and Justice, and many other organizations. They cofounded a PFLAG chapter in Oxford and led the chapter to join with dozens of organizations to form a Safe Schools Coalition, which led an in-service training for teachers, an evening public forum, and a workshop entitled “Freedom for All from Bullying and Harassment.” Reg and Barb also created NSI (Not So Impossible) Dream Catchers, an educational consulting firm. Reg wrote several books, including Toward a Social Technology of Peace: A So ciology of Conflict Resolution; Open the Doors; Prostrate Humor (A Thinking and Laughing Man’s Views on Prostate Surgery); Please Sign In (A Study of Oxford House Signs, Pointing to Students’ Values at Miami University); and three editions of Watering the Family Tree (a 600-page family genealogy). Upon retiring in 2002, Reg and Barbara moved to Mount Pleasant Retirement Community (Monroe, Ohio), where they pursued political activism, community education, and justice issues, and provided leadership on resident activities and initiatives. As activists, Reg and Barbara pushed for openness and reform within the United Methodist Church and worked to change the church’s official policy that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. They advocated for a fully inclusive and loving church for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities at four international General Conferences between 2000 and 2012. They were active in the national (Methodist) Recon ciling Ministries Network, serving as co-coordinators of the Parents Reconciling Network (from which they received the Hilton Award in 2012). While living in Monroe, Reg and Barbara were active with Nexus United Church of Christ (Hamilton) and Clifton United Methodist Church (Cincinnati). Reg came out of retirement to serve as pastor of St. Luke Presbyterian Church (Middletown, Ohio). He was elected Precinct Captain (Precinct 9) of the Butler County Democratic Party, and he was involved in Middfest (Middletown’s annual cultural festival), for which he had arranged the speakers for this eleven-day event in March 2017. Five grandchildren, a love of music and food, extensive genealogical research, trips and cruises, and gatherings with friends and families created a very full calendar for the past fifteen years.

In the introduction to his third edition of Watering the Family Tree (an extensive family history), Reg wrote the following. “According to sociologist Emile Durkheim, our view of God comes from our social environment and social relationships. Unlike Durkheim, who was an atheist, I believe that there is a God, but I also believe that our vision of the divine comes out of our social relationships. I believe that my calling is to help revitalize human social relationships so they may be more Just. I believe that in contributing to social reform I can help to transform the world. To me, learning about my ancestors, and the contexts in which they found themselves, can contribute to my understanding of not only them and myself, but also of God.”

Reg died April 23, 2017, at Mount Pleasant Retirement Community in Monroe, Ohio (Butler County). His humor, wit, and fabulous laugh accompanied him through the diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumor. He responded to the many messages and visits from friends, former students and colleagues, and family by pronouncing that the prior two months had been the best of his life, as he was surrounded with love and companionship.

A Memorial Service will take place on Saturday, May 20, 2017, in the sanctuary at Mount Pleasant Retirement Community in Monroe, Ohio. Family and friends are invited to wear bright colors and join us to celebrate Reg’s life at two o’clock, followed by a reception for all, in the Activity Center.

Reg is survived by his wife, Barbara, of Monroe, Ohio; three children, Beth Olson (Shelly Davis) of Milton, Massachusetts, Stephanie Kleinschmidt (Rick) of Sylvania, Ohio, and Jeff Olson (Gabby) of Vienna, West Virginia; and five grandchildren, Alex, Parker, Connor, Sofia, and Kendall.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Reg’s name to G-ETS (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary: https://www.garrett.edu/give/supporting-our-mission) or Mount Pleasant Retirement Community (https://www.ohioliving.org/communities/ohio-living-mount-pleasant/) or Ohio Hospice of Dayton (https://www.hospiceofdayton.org/donations/) or the charity of your choice.