Thomas Eric Olson

Thomas Eric Olson, of Bountiful, Utah passed away Monday November 30, 2020 after remarkably living to the young age of 70.

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Tom was born on May 21, 1950 in La Jolla, CA to Ethel Winifred Smerdon and Judine Oliver Olson. He was later raised by Woodrow Wayne Perry, the man Tom called “Dad”.

As a boy he lived mostly on the beaches of Southern California. At a very young age he learned to cook, sew, play baseball, and work hard at whatever he was doing. By the time he became a teenager, he’d developed a passion for writing; specifically, about sports. This passion would become the foundation and driving force of many of Tom’s future professional aspirations.

Tom is survived by his wife of 40 years, Patrice JoHanna Gorham, eight children, and 15 grandchildren. They spent most of their lives together bouncing between the beaches of California, and the mountains of Utah and Colorado.

Tom loved collecting rare and unique trinkets. It started in his youth with model cars, baseball cards, stamps, and coins. His collections eventually expanded to include Boy Scout patches, T-shirts, Disney memorabilia, and Kinder Joy knickknacks.

You could regularly find Tom reading a Christmas novel, usually by Richard Paul Evans, while sporting a favorite Hawaiian shirt and San Diego Chargers ball cap.

Tom loved music and briefly played the guitar and banjo to entertain friends and family. He loved to be with family and was always game for a campout, or picnic of KFC “littles” up one of the many canyons within the Wasatch National Forest.

He and his family spent many vacations on the road to National Parks, the beach, and Disneyland while singing along to the Beach Boys, Jon Denver, or The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack.

His family will always remember cross-stitched stockings, Joe Montana meetings, camera punches, rusted out floorboards, renaissance pleasure fairs, quirky one-liners, and little red fire engines.

He was a strong patriarch of his family, a good friend to all, a man who would give his shirt for a friend.

He was a wonderful father who took care of his children and did the best he could to teach and guide them.

A graveside service will be He was a great man. He is loved and will be missed by many! held on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 11:00 AM at Memorial Redwood Mortuary and Cemetery 6500 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, Utah 84123. A viewing will be held two hours prior beginning at 9:00 AM inside the building. Interment to follow the graveside service.

To participate in the services from your own home via live stream, please view instructions below:

STREAMING INSRUCTIONS:

1. Joining by computer

a. Go to zoom.us in any internet browser

b. Click “join meeting”

c. Enter the meeting id - 8012981564

d. A box will open saying “https://zoom.us wants to open this application”. Click “open zoom”

e. Click “Join with Computer Audio”

f. Click “Mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt the funeral services

2. Joining by phone or iPad

a. Download the Zoom app

b. Open the app and select “join a meeting”

c. Enter the meeting id - 8012981564

d. Select “join without video”

e. Select “Call using internet audio”

f. Select “mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt the funeral services.