Mary Mardelle Olsen passed away peacefully on Tuesday September 14, 2021 in Parker, Colorado.

Mardelle was the oldest of 8 children born to the late Trola and Bazel Cloward. She was born in Arco, Idaho on July 28, 1935. Her family lived in various places in Idaho as she grew up. She took on responsibilities to help care for her brothers and sisters.
She met and started dating Robert T. Olsen in high school in Challis, Idaho; the two fell in love and were inseparable. They married September 26, 1952 in the yard of Robert’s parent’s home in Cobalt, Idaho in a beautiful mountain setting.

Mardelle graduated from business school while Robert was serving in the Army.
She was recommended for a receptionist job at an attorney’s office in Pocatello, Idaho. Upon Robert’s return to the States, they moved to Utah where she worked in a doctor’s office. Once her children were in junior high school, she returned to the workforce to add a little income to the family. She worked for a hotel supply company as the office manager. When they moved to Ridgecrest, California she became the executive secretary for the head of a software contractor for the US Navy.

Mardelle was a very devoted wife and mother. She and Robert raised their three children, Kacey Lynn, Chris James, and Jeffery Dean primarily in Las Vegas, Nevada.
She was an amazing homemaker; she was known for her cooking, baking, sewing, and gardening skills. Her home was beautifully decorated and always tidy. Her motto was ‘chores first, play later’. She introduced her family to the practice of “5 minute dishwashings” (10 minutes for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners).

She enjoyed gardening and oil painting; she was quite an accomplished painter. She loved the outdoors and camping. Most family vacations involved camping and visiting her family in Idaho.

Mardelle made lifelong friends wherever she went. She enjoyed any event where family and friends gathered; especially family reunions. She was very involved with her church and served with the women’s Relief Society, taught children’s Sunday school classes, and volunteered at the Genealogy Library. She had a kind, giving heart and was available to anyone that had a need.

She and Robert enjoyed traveling and were able to go to places like Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, and Canada.

Mardelle is survived by her three children, 12 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, her sister Mae McCormick, brother Larry Cloward, sister Sue Piva, and brother Jerry Cloward. She is preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Robert Olsen, her parents, sister Nancy Cloward, sister Ann Thornock, and brother Jack Cloward.

Her funeral service will be held at Newcomer Funeral Home on Saturday, October 16th from 2:30 – 5:30 in Aurora, Colorado. She will be laid to rest with Robert at Ft. Logan National Cemetery.

To view a livestream of Mardelle's service, please visit https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/



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