Obituary of Alfred Gerald Olsen

Voorheesville - Alfred G. Olsen, Jr., 84, died suddenly on Saturday, April 4, 2020 at St. Peter’s Hospital with his wife by his side. Born in Albany, Al was the son of the late Beryl and Alfred G. Olsen, Sr. Al was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kathryn Knuth Olsen; his children, Alfred G. Olsen, III of Colorado Springs, CO, Kathleen Weintraub (T.I.) of Colorado Springs, CO, Anne Marie Olsen of Denver, CO and Judith Trenchard (Charles) of Selkirk; brother of Burage Olsen of Albany; grandfather of Melissa Michaud (Chris), Patti Weintraub, Lucy Trenchard and Henry Trenchard; and great-grandfather of Waylon Michaud. Al grew up in Albany and graduated from Albany High School. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Printing from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he met his loving wife. After graduating, he worked in the typesetting industry for more than 25 years and later at Key Bank. He was a longtime member of Rotary International. For many years, Al rang the bell for the Salvation Army at Christmas time. He was a member of the Wells Historic Society, and a lifelong model railroading enthusiast. For 55 years, Al enjoyed summers in the Adirondacks on Lake Algonquin in Wells, NY where the whole family loved to go every weekend. After retiring, they spent the entire summer in Wells every year. When he wasn’t in the boat on the lake, he was tending the campfire. Every summer included a trip to the lumberyard to get firewood. The cleverest technique to get the kids and nephews to join in was when he asked everyone if they wanted to be a “pilot”. What child wouldn’t want to be a pilot? So he loaded everyone into the station wagon and drove to the lumberyard. When they all got out he said “there’s the wood, pile it into the car”. A celebration of life will be held later this summer in Wells, NY to commemorate Al.