People come into your life for a reason, a season and a lifetime. For those who worked or volunteered with Food Bank of the Rockies anytime in the past 32 years, chances are, their lives have been touched by Olive Crawford.
With both joy and sadness, on September 30, we wished Olive a bittersweet “Happy Trails” as she headed off for new adventures, retiring after 30 years as a paid team member and 32 years total if you count her volunteer time before she was officially hired.
Olive dedicated her time to many jobs with FBR, but the one we’ll remember her for most is her role as Volunteer Supervisor. FBR relies heavily on volunteers to help distribute tens of millions of pounds of food each year. More than 12,000 individuals contribute 130,000+ hours and Olive was responsible for making sure each and every one of them was on task, informed and had a memorable experience with us. She was amazing at her job and loved by both staff and volunteers.
Life hasn’t been easy for Olive. Struggling with poverty and hunger as a child and again as a young single mother, she understands why it’s important to give back. “I guess there were times I needed help,” she explains, holding back the tears. “And there were folks that helped me, and so I want to give back.”
Her past experiences may be the reason her compassion and understanding emanated throughout the food bank. You could always count on Olive to share a few words of kindness and a bit of motherly advice. FBR won’t be the same without her.
“I tried it at 70 and I wasn’t ready,” she says about retiring. “And now I can tell it’s time.” At 74, we know Olive deserves to take a break from full time work and enjoy new adventures.
Reflecting on her work with FBR, Olive says, ” It’s a wonderful gift.” We all feel the same about the devotion and joy Olive brought to her work at the food bank.
Thank you Olive, for putting your heart and soul into to feeding hungry families for three decades. You are already missed beyond words and wished many “Happy Trails” ahead.
Watch Kathy Walsh’s coverage of Olive’s retirement on CBS4.
