Long-time school administrator T. R. Olson dies

Former superintendent

remembered for sense

of humor, attitude

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- Theodore R. "T.R." Olson, former superintendent of New Ulm Public Schools, died Saturday, Feb. 23, 2002. He was 82.

Olson died at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids from complications he suffered from lung cancer after about two weeks on life support, daughter Penny Picha said by phone from her home in Anoka.

Olson served in World War II as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and served as the skipper of an assault landing boat during the invasion of Sicily in 1943. He later attended Whitewater College in Whitewater, Wis., and earned a master's degree from the University of Minnesota.

Olson began teaching in Philips, Wis. before the war.

He moved to New Ulm in 1951. He taught accounting and typing until he was promoted to assistant principal of New Ulm High School in 1960. He was promoted to principal in 1967 and to superintendent in 1972. He held the job until he retired 10 years later.

Teachers, administrators and family members described Olson as a colorful character, a strong supporter of teachers and staff, and above all, someone who wanted to do what was best for students.

"Ted was a character, but the one thing that always stuck out in my mind was he said, 'If it's good for kids, we're going to do it.' If you could justify to him that it was good for kids, he'd find a way to do it," said New Ulm High School Principal Richard LaPatka, whom Olson hired to teach political science in the late 1960s.

John J. Paulson, business manager for District 88 during Olson's tenure as superintendent, remembered him as having "a style all his own. He could be caustic at times, but he was a one-of-a-kind superintendent. He was a man of action."

Daughter Penny Picha said her father had a "devil-may-care attitude, "... a man who always did goofy things and got himself into goofy situations. She remembered him going to a dog show and telling her he had the greatest parking spot, only to tell her it was marked "Photographer Only." The car stayed parked there for about 12 hours, Picha remembered.

"He did the damnedest things," she said by phone. "And he got away with it. If I did that, I couldn't get away with it."

Ag teacher Frank Stuckey worked under Olson during the time he was principal and superintendent. He said Olson was always interested in what students were doing and had a real understanding of the departments at school.

Stuckey described Olson was a boisterous man.

"You knew he was around when he was upset, but five minutes later he'd be smiling and talking about something else," Stuckey remembered. "What stands out in my mind is that you could disagree with him, and discuss it with him. If you could convince him, he'd change his mind. But he was always fair, and if you did have a disagreement, he never brought it up again."

That wasn't necessarily the case with his daughter or with students. Picha was still going to school in New Ulm when her father was assistant principal of NUHS.

"I'll never forget ... He was noted for yelling. He had a voice heard anywhere. It was tough being the principal's daughter," Picha said. "You had to tow the mark on Dad. He didn't accept anything less than that."

Former NUHS Principal Dave Stead, who went on to become executive director of the Minnesota State High School League, said Olson "the best superintendent I ever worked for or worked with."

Olson was famous for his "Ted-isms," Stead said.

"We'd be having these high-minded discussions about some issue, and Ted would jump in with some off the wall comment that would bring everything back into focus. And his focus was what was good for kids."

Stead recalled having a heated argument in Olson's office downtown over a special program Stead wanted to install at the high school. After challenging whether it was good for students, and would help all students, Olson finally told Stead, "Get out of my office."

Stead replied, "Fine, I'm leaving. I wouldn't want to work for a stubborn old superintendent like you anyway."

"By the time I got back to my office, there was a phone call and Ted said, 'I changed my mind. I agree with you. Go ahead.'" Stead said.

"He wanted people to be committed to what they proposed. His message was 'Prove it to me, show me that it's a good program, that it helps kids and that you are committed to it,' and he would make it happen. If there wasn't any funding, he'd find a way to make it work."

Stead, who lives in Coon Rapids near Olson, said he and two former NUHS principals often got together with Olson in recent years for lunch.

"He'd always comment on how smart he was to have hired three principals like us," Stead said. "Invariably, though, our conversations would turn back to New Ulm, the people we knew in New Ulm, the programs in New Ulm, and our love of New Ulm. New Ulm was always Ted's community."

Olson's funeral is 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Church of St. Patrick of Cedar Creek in Oak Grove with visitation one hour prior to mass.

Journal Editor Kevin Sweeney contributed to this story.