Ruth W. Olsen

Ruth W. Olsen, 91, resident of Amherst, NH, died on February 12, 2017 at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, Nashua, NH, surrounded by her loving family. Ruth Wilmarth was born on December 23, 1925 in Hialeah, Florida, the fourth of the four children of Bruce and Bernice Wilmarth. Ruth had a happy childhood and was active in sports, music, camp and church. She gave her life to Jesus Christ as a teen and earnestly desired to know and to reflect Him. She attended Wheaton College inn Wheaton, Illinois graduating in 1948 with a B.A. in Christian Education. Intending to be a missionary to Japan, Ruth attended the New York Bible Institute majoring in missions. She worked as a teacher the following year in Miami. She then attended Faith Seminary in Philadelphia, PA (1950-53) graduating with a M.A. A lifelong heart condition, however, prevented Ruth from pursuing her vision of being a Bible teacher outside North America. While in seminary, Ruth met Arnold Holm Olsen of Suffern, NY. They fell in love and were married Oct 24, 1953. They celebrated their 63rd anniversary in 2016 enjoying a loving marriage for all 63+ years. God gave them one child, a son, Torrey, who was born January 11, 1955. Torrey married Kimberly Kreft in Denver, CO in 1990. Ruth had three grandchildren, Mo, Erik and Christine. Serving various churches over 64 years, Ruth and Arnold lived in Montreal, Canada (1953-58), Hartford, CT (1958-61), and Fort Knox, KY where he was a chaplain in the US Army (1961-63). They lived and served in Westwood, MA (1964-1970), Boston’s Park Street Church, (1970-77), Wayne, MI (1977-84), and the Netherlands where he was the pastor of the American Protestant Church of the Hague (1984-89). Returning to the US, they lived and served in Somerville, NJ (1989-94) before moving to Amherst, NH where Pastor Olsen served as interim pastor for churches in Amherst, Weare, Wolfeboro, Greenville and Goffstown (1994-2011) Throughout her life, Ruth was known for her quiet godliness, humility, beauty – inside and out -, gracious hospitality to countless people from around the world, and her love for her family, friends, reading, music and her Bible. Ruth is survived by her husband, Dr. Arnold Olsen; her son Torrey, her daughter-in-law Kim; and her three loving grandchildren, Mo, Erik and Christine. Visiting hours are on Thursday, February 16th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH 03055. Funeral services will be held on Friday at 3:00 p.m. in the Village Bible Church, 25 ½ Middle Street, Amherst, NH. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be designated to “World Vision – Christian Discipleship”. Address is World Vision / 34834 Weyerhaeuser Way South / Federal Way, WA 98063. Phone: 253-815-1000.