Oliver August Krein

Sep 8, 1932 -

Oct 29, 2020

Oliver (Ollie) August Krein passed away peacefully on Oct. 29, 2020, due to complications related to COVID-19. He was born in Trail City, S.D., on Sept. 8, 1932 to Rosa and John Krein, and grew up on a farm with ten siblings. He had an exceptional ability to build and fix things. Ollie joined the Army when he was 17 and served as a cook at Fort Richardson. After his service, Ollie worked in oil exploration across the U.S. for Western Geophysical. Shortly after oil was discovered in Alaska, he returned to the state he took part in the early years of oil exploration in various locations and on the North Slope. He came to call Alaska his home. Resourceful, kind, and giving, Ollie was the one to call if your pipes froze, your furnace went out, or your car would not start. Ollie married Carol (Love) on Aug. 17, 1963. They bonded over their love of Alaska and a shared adventurous spirit. Ollie and Carol raised three children: Kelly, Kevin, and Kathi.

After retiring from Western Geophysical in 1994, Ollie devoted his life to his family and community. He dedicated a year of service to the Anchorage Baha'i Community and was central in renovating the Anchorage Baha'i Center. He cooked countless meals for Baha'i gatherings, and spent several years barbecuing for the Texas 4000 Bike Trip and Cancer Fundraiser. Ollie and Carol enjoyed traveling and cruising with family and friends. Ollie collected pine cones and seeds on his travels which he grew into trees. He gave many of his saplings to friends and several of his trees are still growing in yards in Alaska and Oregon.

Ollie is survived by his wife of 57 years, Carol; children, Kelly (and Mark) Weber of Hillsboro, Ore., Kevin (and Alison) Krein of Juneau, Kathi (and Chris) Porter of Anchorage; four grandchildren, Tim (and Rachael) Weber of Portland, Jessica (and Clayton) Baker of Omaha, Lauren Weber of Minneapolis and Sophia Caputo of Juneau; and three siblings, Nettie Overseth of Wishek, N.D., Marge Lemberg of Selby, S.D., and Ed Krein of Revillo, S.D. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date when his family will plant a tree in honor of Ollie. Family suggests memorial donations be made to Alzheimer's Resource of Alaska.