West Bend, WI – Colonel Ralph Norman Olsen, M.D., 94, passed away peacefully at his West Bend home on July 9, 2023.
Ralph “Doc” Olsen was born in Milwaukee on May 14, 1929. He deeply loved his wife of 65 years, former 1st Lieutenant Eugenie (née Fisher) Olsen of Bronx, NY, who passed in May 2023.
He is survived by five children, Cecily Olsen of West Bend, WI, Wendy Olsen (Ferdinand Nimphius) of Slinger, WI, Jordana (Thomas) Esswein of Madison, WI, Lieutenant Colonel Retired Charles (Marjorie) Olsen of Richfield, WI, and Colonel Retired Paul Olsen of Norfolk, VA. He is also survived by nine grandchildren: Conor, Danny, Aran, David, Gabriel, Rebecca, Émilie, Charlotte, and Dane. He was preceded in death by his mother Margery (née Elmergreen) Olsen and father Norman Olsen, U.S Merchant Marine WWI/WWII.
Doc will miss his opera pal and E-Boat crew John Emory Sr, his hunting pals Bill Emory and Jim Carroll, his canoeing and fishing pals Reverend Andre Sjaavaang, Warren Asa, and Dr. Roger Cohen, his fellow pediatrician Dr. Archie Paquette, iceboat pals Jim Plunkett and Professor Bruce Reynolds, and monthly German Beer Hall lunches with Don Gral, Ned Baldus and all the sailors, birders and hunters he knew.
Doc was a Boy Scout all his life, starting with Pack 44 at the Baptist Church on 18th and Wells, then Troop 29 at the Grand Avenue Congregational Church, then Sea Scout Ship 411 at the Alonzo Cudworth Post. He achieved Eagle Scout and graduated from the Wisconsin Avenue West Division High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in zoology and was a teaching assistant in ornithology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Doc was commissioned as an officer from Army ROTC in 1954 and earned his doctorate degree from the UW–Madison School of Medicine. He took his internship at Eastern Maine General Hospital in Bangor, ME, and his residency in pediatrics at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver, CO. Colonel Olsen proudly served eight years in the Regular Army, including paratrooper duty as a surgeon with the 101st Airborne Division, and a three-year tour in France with the 34th General Hospital.
Doc and Eugenie, who wed in 1959, moved to Elm Grove in 1964 and he practiced pediatrics in Wauwatosa and Brookfield, serving with the Wisconsin National Guard. He returned to active duty in 1984 for a four-year tour as deputy commander of the U.S. Army Hospital at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY. Following his Army retirement, he practiced pediatrics in West Bend for 13 years. Doc loved his profession and the children and families under his care.
Doc was a proud member of the Cedar Lake Yacht Club all his life and sailed X, M16, E, and MC scows on the waters of Big Cedar Lake. He served on the Milwaukee County Zoo Board of Directors and was a member of the Horicon Marsh Bird Club, Sons of Norway, ILYA Bilge Pullers, and Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation. Doc canoed countless rivers in Manitoba, Ontario, and the Midwest, and hunted yearly with his cowboy pals Bob Wenande and Arlyn Anderson in Wyoming.
Doc leaves this old world with an enduring love for Eugenie, trust in the Democratic Party, faith in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, and the sure knowledge that the Life Everlasting means Children.
The family is forever grateful to Doc’s caregivers and hospice nurses. The family is planning a private burial. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation, Box 347, West Bend, WI, 53095; Boy Scouts of America 330 S. 84th St., Milwaukee, WI 53214; the Rosenheimer Family Cemetery; or the Native American Center for Health Professions Scholarship Fund in memory of Ralph Olsen at supportuw.org/giveto/olsenmemorial.
