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Women of larchmont 2017
larchmont chronicle
august 2017
Faith, family and friends is ‘secret’ to Olsens’ 75th Ken (99) and Dickie (96) Olsen of Muirfield Road will have been married 75 years this November. The couple credit "faith, family and friends" as the secret to their long marriage and to life. The couple raised
seven children and volunteered countless hours to St. Anne’s Home, Loyola High Mother’s Club (which Dickie’s mom, Linda Luer Von der Ahe, founded), and others. After her own children left home, Dickie started volun-
teering at local schools to read to children. “She was very unassuming and genuinely kind,” says her daughter Jodi Kelly. Dickie was a Larchmont Chronicle Woman of Larchmont in 1982.
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Dickie and Ken met through Dickie’s brother, a Jesuit, who was living at what was then called Loyola University, and today is Loyola Maryount University. Ken, a native New Yorker, was in the U.S. Army 7th Regiment which was sent to Los Angeles — his first trip west. Having never been here and arriving in the dark of night, he staked out quarters for his troop on the bluff at Loyola. “He had no idea, of course, and the next morning he was confronted by Fr. Karl about what he was doing there. Eventually, that same priest asked if a couple of soldiers might want to go to his parent’s house in Hancock Park for dinner, and the rest is history.” Dickie was attending USC and majoring in music at the time. Ken’s parents “were poor immigrants, and dad learned early and well the value of a dollar and the rewards of hard work,” said Jodi. Dickie’s mother was also a native Los Angeleno. Her father was from the mid-west and rode the rails to Los Angeles. “Dad worked for Standard Oil,” said Jodi, “a company that tried to woo him back to the east coast after the war. He was also pursued by the Army that promised him ranks beyond his captain status. “But he was smitten not only with Dickie, but also with California with its warm weather. He brought his dad and sister out west to join him because he accepted his father-in-law’s offer to work at Von’s Grocery.” He worked his way up from meat cutter / butcher through multiple positions to president and CEO. During his ten-
FOUR GENERATIONS celebrated Ken Olsen's 99th birthday. Dickie is seated, right.
ure as president, Von’s and he were recognized by the Pulitzer Prize of the food industry — the Sidney Rabb Award. Dickie isn’t as mobile these days, so Ken attends daily mass and brings his wife com(Please turn to page 19)
Olsens and Kellys top 200+ years The Olsens' 75th wedding anniversary in November is not their only cause for celebration. Five of their seven children chose to get married (two bachelors are still holding out), and those marriages are still going strong. If you add up all the years, it tops 200+ years, estimates Jodi Olsen Kelly. Not just stability, but longevity, is a recurring theme in their family. For example, 25 years ago, four Kelly children had the unusual privilege of attending not one 50th anniversary, but two — the Kelly grandparents (Van Ness Ave.) in June of 1992 followed by the Olsen grandparents in November of that same year. “And, now, they get to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee,” says Jodi.
Congratulations to the
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