Oh, the stories they will tell at the Celebration of Life for Steve Olsen next Saturday.
Hilarious. Sobering. Tender.
Kim Ricker has heard them all.
“Dad was an amazing man,” his daughter said.
Beloved, respected and a Manatee High Athletic Hall of Honor inductee, Olsen coached the Hurricanes for 30 years in various sports – e.g., girls basketball and softball – and taught driver’s ed.
Something of a Renaissance man, the former Florida State hurdles star and doting grandfather also raised championship show pigeons. He had an impressive collection of baseball cards, including classics such as Babe Ruth in his playing days and Mickey Mantle’s autographed 1952 rookie card. He and wife Judy, who also have a son, Stephen Jr. , collected decorative Christmas houses, too. And he was a Frank Sinatra devotee, owning albums and 45s of “Ol’ Blue Eyes” going back decades.
Olsen, 82, left us Aug. 9, but the memories are many.
Kim, who played basketball for her father, has this corker.