Carol Olson

Carol R. Olson (Tasso), age 79 of Hamilton, NJ and a former longtime resident of Lincoln Park and West Paterson (Woodland Park), NJ, passed away peacefully with her family lovingly by her side, on Thursday, November 10, 2022.

Carol was born in Paterson and raised in West Paterson. Prior to her birth her father Frank was called into military service during World War II. While gone, his 8” x 10” military photo sat on a table in the living room. To Carol, that photo became the personification of who her daddy was. When he returned from war, he naturally looked a little different, causing Carol to exclaim “You’re not my daddy. Grabbing that photo and holding it up to him she said, “This is my daddy!”  Well, now safely home from service, her father, Frank Tasso and her mother Caroline (Perugini) Tasso raised Carol and her younger sister Lynn in West Paterson, within walking distance of many of her cousins who Carol played with daily and to whom she remained close to her entire life. Carol’s family recalls one story that Carol shared about her childhood. She was maybe four or five years old and her parents put a rope around her waist with the other end of the rope tied to a post on the front porch so that she wouldn’t be able to wander off with her older boy cousins.

Carol graduated from Passaic Valley High School with the Class of 1961. She pursued higher education at Paterson State College (William Paterson University) where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Education. Her first teaching position was at the Beatrice Gilmore School on McBride Avenue in her hometown of West Paterson. The school just happened to be within walking distance of her home at 68 Ryle Park Ave – the home she continued to live in since her childhood.

Carol met her husband Kenneth Olson on a blind date at a bowling alley. That night she learned very quickly about Ken’s affectionate disposition and wonderful sense of humor. Fast forward to 35 years of marriage, she could look back and emphatically say she was glad she went on that first date. Carol and Ken married at First Lutheran Church in Clifton on July 27, 1968 and started their “husband and wife adventure” in a little apartment in Little Falls. In 1971 they moved into the house at 7 Rose Street in Lincoln Park, and a few years later, they were blessed with their two daughters – Laura and Kris Anne.

As a young mom, Carol left her teaching job to turn her full-time attention to motherhood. She loved, nurtured, and raised her girls to an age of appropriate independence before returning to the classroom. Her first foray into re-entering the teaching world took place at Busy Beaver Nursery School in Lincoln Park. Then, in 1980 she took a teaching position for 5th and 6th graders at St. Joseph School in Lincoln Park. She taught there for nine years, finishing as a first-grade teacher before moving on to Holy Angels School in Little Falls in 1989. Prior to full retirement in 2006 she returned to where she began, at Beatrice Gilmore School in Woodland Park.

Carol, Ken and their girls made a close-knit family of four who truly enjoyed doing life together. Summer after summer, they’d take the annual trek down the Garden State Parkway South enroute to the Jersey shore. For many years they vacationed in Seaside Park, a couple of years in Wildwood Crest and ultimately to Ocean City where, in 1996, they purchased their own beach house. They enjoyed family cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean, and in 2003, they took the family on a cruise to Bermuda (where they had honeymooned) to celebrate Carol and Ken’s 35th wedding anniversary. Sadly, and suddenly, Ken passed away in his sleep shortly after that cruise. After he passed, Carol remained in Lincoln Park until 2011 when she moved full time into the house in Ocean City. She and Ken enjoyed a storied marriage. Their love for each other was immense and abiding. They were each other’s best friend and time spent together was as good as it could get. Travel was surely one of their greatest pastimes. In addition to their penchant for cruises, they got to see much of the USA. They dubbed one such trip to the south “Carol and Ken’s Great Adventure”. When they took a trip out west, they fell in love with Arizona and there was also a trip to the Canadian Rockies. In the end, no destination held a closer place in Carol’s heart than down the Jersey shore. It was a quick excursion which held so many fond family memories and quite frankly, to Carol, nothing felt better than a shell in her pocket, and sand between her toes after a walk on the beach.

For many years, Carol enjoyed the game of golf. She played in the Lincoln Park Women’s League and enjoyed playing in Ocean City. She was a bit of a collector and sometimes her family wondered if she loved collecting commemorative golf balls more than playing the game. She also had a large collection of tea pots and she never saw a mug she didn’t love. She had so many, you would swear her mugs were having babies in her kitchen cabinets. She was so cute about it though and could be heard saying things like, “this is such a perfect mug for coffee, don’t you think?” Carol loved the arts and one of her favorite things to do was taking trips into New York City for a Broadway show. She could regularly be found cheering on her beloved Yankees, while watching the game with her dog Jeter. She loved visiting wineries down the shore (good taste!) and after Ken passed away, she and her sister Lynn enjoyed jazz cruises.

As the expression goes, Carol was an angel! She saw the good in all and was always the first to lend a helping hand to virtually anyone in need. In keeping with her faith in God, even unkind thoughts or deeds directed towards her were always returned with kindness. She was the consummate believer in the value of loving family ties. She had the privilege of being raised with cousins that lived up the street from her and who she continued to enjoy her entire life. She so much enjoyed raising her two daughters and, as those relationships changed as they grew to be adults themselves, their love and adoration for each other grew more and more. Thanks for the memories Mom! Her grandchildren saw their grandmother regularly and she could always be counted on to cheer for them at all their performances and competitions, and celebrate with them at all life’s milestone moments. Though separated by nine years, Carol and sister Lynn remained best friends who loved each other’s company, and her nieces and great nieces were as important to her as her own children and grandchildren.

Carol was the beloved wife of Kenneth, blessed in a loving marriage for 35 years until his sudden passing in 2003. She was the most loving mother of Laura Foster of Hamilton, and Kris Anne Kinney and her husband Jonathan of Simsbury, CT; cherished grandmother of Mackenzie, Brayden, Caroline, and Linnea; dearest older sister of Lynn Kroll of Wescosville, PA; dear aunt of: Jacqueline Walsh and husband Justin of Cherry Hill, Allison Kroll of Pittsburgh, PA; dear great-aunt of: Evelyn Walsh and Emilia Walsh, both of Cherry Hill; adored cousin of numerous cousins, and the precious godmother of many godchildren.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Carol’s name are asked to consider one of two charitable organizations:

Wounded Warrior Project
4899 Belfort Road Suite 300
Jacksonville, FL 32256

Cancer Support Community
New Jersey
At Gilda’s Club
700 New Road
Linwood, NJ 08221