I would like my children to know more about my siblings.
This photo was taken at my parents' (Marvin and Carol Olsen's) 50th wedding anniversary celebration in August of 1987. My sister, (Marion) Gayle is 11 months older than I am. Three brothers followed: Leslie was five years younger, Lloyd was six years younger, and (Clifton) Brent was 11 years younger. Leslie died as a baby when six months old. Brent is the tall, dark one in the back of the picture.
My folks moved a lot with my father's job as a soil scientist. Gayle was born in Phoenix, Arizona. I was born in American Fork, Utah. Leslie and Lloyd were born in Montrose, Colorado. Brent was born in Richfield, Utah. My siblings currently each live in a different state: Gayle is in Texas, Lloyd in Utah, and Brent in Arizona.
Gayle and Lloyd divorced their young spouses and remarried. Gayle had three children with Delbert "Norris" Hutchinson: Lori, Lyn, and Lysle. Lyn was a lifelong friend of mine. Gayle is the step mother of Joe Jenson's three children from his first marriage.
Lloyd has two children: Travis John (T J) and Stephanie with his current wife, Nancy. His previous marriage with Christine (Christy) produced three girls: Lisa, Jenny, and Stacey.
Brent has two daughters with his wife Ronda: Hailey and Heather. There are lots of grand nieces and nephews I've never met.
Gayle worked for the IRS in their fraud division specializing in fake returns filed from prisons. She has made and sold crafts since her retirement. Lloyd was a property manager for a Utah school system. Lloyd was also a staff sergeant in the Utah National Guard and liked to play in softball leagues with his wife, who was a high school math and PE teacher. Brent worked his whole career in the meat industry. His wife, Ronda, works for Wells Fargo.
We all graduated from high schools in south Salt Lake. Although we lived in the same house, Gayle graduated from East High, I graduated from South High, and Brent and Lloyd graduated from Highland High, a new school built near our home. I was the only one to go on to college and to go on a mission. Brent had several "cool" cars through the years.
The last time I talked to Gayle was a mom's funeral in 2002. Lloyd calls a couple of times a year. Brent has visited us several times on business trips. Lloyd lived near mom's retirement center so he saw her almost weekly during the last few years of her life.
Both of my brothers are taller than I am. Since there was a big age difference between the boys we never interacted much. We liked each other and still do. Brent was 12 when I was dating Janeil and he tagged along on several of our dates. I was a pest to my older sister. One day I remember she was upset with me and the worst insult she could muster was, "You have no personality."
In contrast to my siblings, Janeil's sisters, Lois and Gail, are well know to our kids. Aunt Gail has been a confidant to Sheryl and Brenda when they were at BYU and since. Gail has invited the whole family to many family dinners when we were in Utah on visits. Gail was very kind to Carl over the years. Lois' children are equivalent in age to our family. About a decade ago we would have yearly large campout family reunions.
