The Prayers of Gary Olson

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Gary Olson

There aren’t many days that I can remember with crystal clarity ten years later, but November 2, 1999 will stay in my mind forever. On that day our son Josh turned 20. To help him celebrate, Marlene and I drove out to Wheaton College to take him to lunch. On our way back to Oak Park, we talked about this and that, and then she went back to her office at the Christian school, and I went back to my office at the church.

A few minutes later Marlene called to say that she had just heard that Gary Olson had collapsed while working out at the local high school. In the few brief minutes it took to drive to the hospital, I knew in my heart that he was gone. For years Gary had been the head football coach at Oak Park-River Forest High School. He had served as an elder at the church. And he and his wife Dawn were our dear friends. A year earlier we had taken a vacation together to the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming. For almost five years Gary and I were part of a Promise Keepers group. Almost every time when he came to pick me up, Gary had Elvis playing in his car. So we sang along to “American Trilogy” on our way to the PK meeting.

He was a great football coach, a man’s man, an excellent husband and father and grandfather, highly respected in the community, and he truly loved the Lord and was outspoken about his faith. He was one of the best friends I have ever had. All our boys knew him and loved him. Thousands of people came to his wake and to the funeral service.

Gary loved to pray, and I loved listening to him pray. After he died, we put together a tape of the prayers he prayed during the worship services at Calvary Memorial Church. Lots of people pray, and then there are some people whose prayers touch your heart. Gary’s prayers always strengthened me. 

It hardly seems possible that he left us for heaven ten years ago today. Suffice to say that I still miss him and think about him often. To honor his memory, we’ve added a shortened version of the Prayers of Gary Olson to the audio section of the website. Angie Thomas played the piano for the musical bridges between the prayers. If you listen, I think you’ll catch a glimpse of his heart and you’ll understand why I loved to hear him pray.