Steven Ford Ollila, friend, son, brother, uncle and husband, passed away peacefully on March 18, 2012, at age 59 after struggling with complications from a lung transplant.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Betty Lou and Everett Ollila. He was survived by brothers Doug (Jane Harper) and Jamey (Rita), nieces Elisabeth, Stephanie and Ashley, wife Becky Ross and many friends in the Wood River Valley, Seattle and Minnesota.
Steve grew up in St. Paul, Minn., and graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Forestry, attending on an Evans Scholarship. A position with the U.S. Forest Service took him to the Idaho Rockies and Sun Valley where he avidly climbed, skied and hiked with friends known as the "Continental Cruisers." He moved to Seattle where he worked 15 years for United Parcel Service, completed a first ascent in the North Cascades and improved his golf game. Steve returned to Hailey 13 years ago to work for Marketron and to live near long-time friends and the mountains he knew and loved.
A gathering to commemorate Steve's life was held Sunday, March 25, at the Minnesota Masonic Chapel in Bloomington, Minn. Memorials may be given to the University of Washington Medical Center-Lung Transplant Program, checks payable to LXP Trng and Educ, 65-2368. Mailing address is University of Washington Medical Center, Dr. Michael S. Mulligan, CT Surgery, Box 356310, Seattle, WA 98195.
