Ollie Kelsey (1924-2022)

KELSEY, GEER, GALLAHER

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 2/23/2022 at 09:22:02

Born in Albany, N.Y., on December 30, 1924 to Alice Geer Kelsey, a children’s book author, and Lincoln D. Kelsey, a Cornell University professor of agricultural engineering, she grew up in Ithaca, NY.

A Home Economics major and Veisha Queen at Iowa State Univ., she met and married Iowa State student body president, football player and engineering student George L Gallaher. They married November 17th, 1945 in Boone, Iowa, just before he shipped out with the US Navy. George was an engineer, WWII and Korean War naval officer, minister and math teacher over the years. Ollie and George had been married 69 years before George’s death at the age of 90.

Ollie loved her primary job as a stay-at-home mom of four children, David Gallaher (partner Mary Dix), Iowa City, the Hon. Patricia Gallaher (Jeff Carlson, deceased), Rochester, N.Y., Janice (Craig) Hill, Morrison, CO., and Stephen (Linda) Gallaher, DesMoines, IA. Ollie enjoyed volunteer jobs including Cub Scouts, Campfire Girls, tutoring children, picking up trash with AMPS, answering the youth hotline, the Bix, Festival of Trees, Ride the River, and serving on the Board of Directors of the Clarissa C. Cook Home. She continued doing volunteer work even after moving to Ridgecrest Retirement Village.

Ollie was skilled at sewing, pottery, and making stained glass and beveled glass windows. Her favorite outdoor pastimes were camping, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate N.Y. She canoed and kayaked well into her nineties, even after breaking a hip.

Olive is survived by her four children, 11 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, plus many nieces and nephews. Her parents, husband, brother, two sisters and many wonderful friends pre-deceased her.

In lieu of flowers please take your spouse/partner to dinner. Any financial memorials may be given to a non-profit of your choice.

Memorial service to be held at a later date