Jean Olson, beloved wife, mother, and friend, passed away from advanced ovarian cancer on June 6, 2025, three years after diagnosis. She felt fortunate to pass at home with her loving family and close friends by her side.
Born in 1948 to Marguerite and John Remington, Jean grew up in Vermont at a time and place that offered her a childhood full of opportunities. The first few years were marked by tumult as Jean and her sister were sent to live with family in New Hampshire while their mother spent two years recovering from tuberculosis in a sanitarium. The family was reunited in 1954 and moved to Woodstock, where her parents bought a 1791 farmhouse on Prosper Road. The local farmers cautioned them against buying a 100-acre property with no running water, electricity, central heating, or indoor plumbing. But Marguerite had a vision for her family and home and carried it out. Her talent to realize the potential in the overlooked was a gift she passed on to her daughter. Jean would later harness this gift in service to her community throughout her life.
The ‘50s and early ‘60s were a magical time to be a child on a farm in Woodstock. Jean and her two sisters spent their days playing outdoors, riding, swimming, skiing, and skating. One of Jean’s favorite memories included getting her library card at the Norman Williams Library by standing on a stool to sign the big book of members. Another favorite memory was of her mother lightly penciling the names of the piano keys on the old grand piano (a relic left on the farmhouse from the Civil War as it was too large to move) so Jean could read and play. She subsequently took up the guitar, which led to a lifetime of playing music with others, including 20 years in a flute trio and later singing with Bob Kinzel and Leigh Seddon, The Barn Band, into her last months.
Education was central to Jean’s life. Her parents encouraged her to go to college at a time when it was not expected for women. She attended Skidmore and then Johnson State College where she graduated with a BA in music. In mid-life Jean returned to education, earning her master’s degree in education from Norwich University at Vermont College and a doctorate in education from University of Vermont.
Jean met her beloved husband, George Olson, at Johnson State and they were married in July 1969. They lived in Montpelier for a year before George was drafted during the Vietnam War, which sent them to basic training in Baltimore and then to Vietnamese Language School in El Paso. Jean felt fortunate that George’s deployment orders were changed from Vietnam to Europe as the war was winding down. The couple left Texas for Dusseldorf, Germany where Jean worked with the British Army in the transport unit for displaced persons from WWII. Her two main tasks were making tea and delivering mail around the compound twice a day. The initial interview consisted of two questions: Can you type? Yes. Can you make tea? No, I don’t drink tea and don’t like tea. They hired her regardless and then enjoyed plenty of jokes about the sad quality of her tea.
Upon release from military service, Jean and George settled back in Vermont. They were blessed with two beautiful daughters–Emilia in 1979 and Sarah in 1981. One of the big family adventures was the year spent in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus in 1990 when her daughters were just 9 and 11. George had a Fulbright to teach at a Turkish high school and Jean taught English to Turkish college students. The family faced enormous challenges in Cyprus, and yet, when they were encouraged to return to Vermont as the Gulf War began, they agreed they had worked hard to build a life in an unknown place and decided to stay. They finished the Fulbright year and also took the opportunity to travel to Egypt, Israel, and Italy.
Jean was a treasured member of the Montpelier community. Over the years she volunteered with the Barre Opera House, OUR House, the Kellogg Hubbard Library, the Montpelier Foundation, was elected to the Montpelier City Council and the Montpelier Senior Activity Center Advisory Council. She worked on the Enhanced 911 project and in retirement for the House Clerk’s Office at the State House. Her fundraising work allowed Woodbury College to relocate to a much larger location, currently the CCV location in Montpelier.
Her twenty years of teaching elementary and adult learners while volunteering on local boards, prepared Jean for the culmination of her professional life when she became Executive Director of the Governor’s Institutes of Vermont in 1994. In her 16 years at the helm, Jean transformed the organization from one on the brink of bankruptcy to a thriving institution. She moved the GIV office into her home to control costs and expanded the number of institutes through savvy fundraising. Jean believed in the transformative power of opportunity and loved to see more and more students attend the institutes each summer, which she described as “magic” while others viewed it as a testament to her dedication. Today, GIV offers summer programs to high school students ranging from the arts and science to civic engagement and international issues.
Montpelier has lost a visionary force and Jean will be greatly missed not only by family but by her treasured community. Resilience, optimism and a self-proclaimed “sturdiness” were just some of Jean’s faithful traits throughout her life. These guideposts, along with her love for her family and dearest friends, and a lifelong appreciation for her life in Vermont, sustained her to the end.
Jean and her family want to thank her caregivers, all of whom offered compassion alongside their professional expertise: Dr. Gamal and Georgia Eltabbakh, staff at CVMC especially Katie Hall, Dr. Rachel Gaidys, the Hematology and Radiation teams, and Bayada Hospice especially Nurse Kat Placek.
Jean was predeceased by her parents and her younger sister, Diane (Remington) Starr. She leaves behind her loving husband, George Olson, her cherished daughters and their spouses Emilia Olson (Jacob Rogen) and Sarah Olson (Josh Rudman), her younger sister Mary Gulbrandsen (David Gulbrandsen), along with her niece Justina Starr (Kay, Zac, Aziza and Musa Kasanga), nephew Isaac Starr (Megan Lizotte), and many other dear relatives and friends.
A memorial service will be held at Vermont College Alumnx Hall, 45 College Street, Montpelier, VT at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 29.
Memorial contributions may be made to: The Jean Olson Fund at The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont at https://giv.org/.
