Donald Edward Olin

Donald Edward Olin (1942-2020) slipped away after a long illness on November 7th, 2020 in Mesa, AZ. Don is survived by his wife Nancy, daughter Beth and son-in-law Sal, son Michael, and five adored grandchildren Gina, Vincent, Calvin, Sylvia, and Bay. He is also survived by his sister Carrol, nephews Wayne and Craig and families. Also, numerous cousins, many in the Denver area. Don was born April 26,1942 to Betty (Culp) and Archie Olin in Denver, CO. He graduated from Alameda H.S. in 1960. He went on to earn his auctioneer license from the Missouri Auctioneer School in Kansas City, MO. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1962 and was stationed at Ft. Riley, KS where he helped care for Chief, the last Army Cavalry horse. After a tour of duty in Viet Nam, he returned to Colorado determined to begin a career in law enforcement. Don joined the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in July of 1965 and served in operations and supervisory assignments throughout the department before retiring as an Investigation Sergeant in 1999. Don played with the original Lawmen band when it was a JCSO community outreach program. Don was extremely proud of the Sheriff’s Office and his service there. He made many lifelong friends while there. Through the years, Don enjoyed rodeoing, hunting, fishing, beer can collecting, golfing, skiing, white water rafting, sailing, cruising, motorcycling, rv’ing, refereeing youth soccer games, and wood carving. He also enjoyed season tickets to the Colorado Opera, Central City Opera, the Colorado Symphony, and the Colorado Rockies. Back in the day, Don played with several bands in the Denver metro area, Central City, and Evergreen. Until his illness sidelined him, Don organized and emceed a country jam at Good Life and joined in many other jams in the Mesa area. Don worked to travel and when he retired, he lived to travel. He did live his dream. Celebrations of Life are planned to be held in Colorado and Arizona next year when we can safely gather again. It was Don’s wish that any donations please be made to an animal rescue society or sanctuary of the donor’s choice. Thank you. Nancy can be reached at: 3403 East Main Street #2423 Mesa, AZ 85213