Kenneth Clarence "Clary:" Olson

Kenneth Clarence "Clary" Olson, 70, of Tipton, passed away Friday, March 26, 2021, at his home, surrounded by his family. Born July 16, 1950, in Beloit, Wis., he was the only child of Kenneth Clare and Audrey (Davis) Olson. He attended the Lutheran Valley Church in Beloit. Kenneth honorably served 20 years in the United States Army, retiring in 1990 as a Master Sergeant. He served in the Vietnam War as a scout dog handler and in the 101st Airborne 42nd Scout Dog Platoon. He was a military technical advisor for the television show Tour of Duty. Kenneth was proud to have gone on the Honor Flight and was very much a patriot to his country. He then worked for the Missouri Department of Corrections for 22 years. Kenneth was an outdoorsman all his life. He served on the Tipton Park board and was instrumental in organizing a fishing tournament at the park. He was a member of the United Bowhunters of Missouri and a lifetime member of Compton Traditional Bowhunters. His hobbies included hunting, fly fishing, making quivers and arrows, hunting arrowheads, shooting guns, and crafting leather. He also enjoyed reading and writing. Driving around the horn with the kids was one of his favorite things to do. Kenneth was very charismatic, funny, loving, caring and had a great big heart. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends. Surviving are his wife, Melanie, of the home; seven children: Jameson Olson (Ginger) of Huntington, Ind., Joshua Olson of Fort Wayne, Ind., Jessica Mills (Ryan) of California, Mo., Jennifer Stepp (David) of Kansas City, Jeanette Boldwin (Eric) of Jefferson City, Madalin Upton (Cole Mortenson) of Springfield, Tanner Olson of the home; eight grandchildren: Katelyn Elizabeth, Jessica, Katie, Mahala, Rylan, Cooper, Kyla and Emersyn; three great-grandchildren, Mya, Eli and Oliver; and his fur-grandbabies, Ziggy, Lolly, Hemingway, Jinx, Freya, Merley Rose, Zeus and Hera. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Sylvia Rose (Hainen); and a grandson, Jacob Olson. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 30, 2021, at the Meisenheimer Funeral Home in Tipton, where the family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until service time. Military honors will be presented by the United States Army. Honorary bearers will be Steven Opperman, Lt. Michael Arthur, John Winchester Bradford Jr., Gary Linderer, Tim Castille, Joe Deering and Nick Howard. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Central Missouri Honor Flight.