Surrounded by the love of his wife and daughters, Robert Allen Olsen died peacefully at home on January 8th, 2025.

Robert’s life began on April 4th, 1936. Ever the gentleman, he allowed his twin sister, Carolyn, the honor of being the first born and ergo, the older sibling- something she never quite forgave him for. The other part of the birth story involved a NYC cab (and we could imagine, a rather frantic cab driver) and a doctor who was delighted to find that he was going to, at long last, deliver his first set of twins. He was so over-joyed at this milestone that he promised Robert’s mother free college tuition if she named the boy child for him. Sadly, it was not to be for Dr. Benjamin.

Along with his other siblings, Alice and George, and his parents, Alice and George, Robert spent the first part of his childhood in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Robert always looked back fondly on his Brooklyn years- a childhood spent exploring all the borough had to offer from rooting for the Dodgers to going to Saturday matinees. On one such occasion, a young Robert settled in to watch the afternoon feature, a werewolf flick, only to find himself so terrified that he high-tailed it out of the theater, into the street and then straight into the path of a military vehicle. Having been struck, he was rushed to the hospital where it took days to recover. Another Brooklyn legend involved a set of roller-skates and a telephone pole. For reasons never made clear, Bob climbed the latter wearing the former.

Summers were spent at a cabin in Hoffman’s Grove. Stories from that era included wading across the Passaic River while balancing a pizza overhead from Sam’s Maple Grove. Eventually his family would call this corner of New Jersey home, building a house on Alps Road in Wayne. Bob graduated from Wayne High School in 1953 where he played baseball and football. He then went on to study at Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia, finishing up at Fairleigh Dickinson University with degrees in engineering and accounting. He also served in the Army National Guard.

It was around this time that a young woman named Ellen Espie caught his eye. Up to this point, Ellen was just the kid sister of his good friend, Dave, and, since she was still in high school, she was off limits for him. For her part, Ellen was well aware of Bob, not just as her brother’s pal, but the handsome bowling champ she and her friends would pester at the alley as a Friday ritual. However, once she had her high school diploma in hand, everything changed. And he asked her out, quite literally, the day after graduation. That first date fortunately extended into many more, and they endured the distance while Ellen attended college in Massachusetts. The two made it official at The First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains on a snowy February 23rd,1963. Little did they know that they would later make their home and raise their girls (and many pets) in the same town.

Bob’s career began in accounting, and then he swiftly transitioned to sales in the flavors and fragrance field in firms such as Fritzche, Firmenich, and Givaudan. He relished his times in the perfume industry, enabling him to travel, work alongside notables in the field, and, treat his wife and daughters to perfume samples. Bob finished his career working in the insurance industry.

Summers were spent splashing and playing in the pool with his two daughters, Stephanie and Elizabeth, and rooting for the New York Mets. In the fall, tailgates and New York Giants football games were a family staple. Evenings were reserved for Jeopardy! A host of dogs, cats, fish and chameleons rounded out the fun.

A monumental (and memorable) family vacation to the Canadian Rockies was a family highlight. Over the years, family travel included driving trips to Florida and down the shore. As empty-nesters, Bob and Ellen were able to travel to Scandinavia, Alaska, and throughout Europe.

Anyone who knew Bob knew that he had two passions- golf and Bridge. He devoted much time to these hobbies and in return these hobbies rewarded him with holes in one (at least two!) and the rank of Gold Life Master in Bridge. For many years, he was a member of Montclair Golf Club where he played to a 3 handicap. Regular poker games with friends was another favorite activity.

Bob is pre-deceased by his parents, George Olsen and Alice Squires Olsen and his siblings, Alice Olsen French Laffey, George Olsen, and Carolyn Olsen Laffey. He leaves behind his devoted wife of 62 years, Ellen Espie Olsen, loving daughters, Stephanie Olsen Klopfer and Elizabeth Olsen Takacs, sons-in-law Kevin Klopfer and Kristopher Takacs, and his pride and joy, his four grandchildren, Ethan and Ella Klopfer and Esmé and Theo Takacs, a wonderful extended family, many friends, and of course, his loyal dog, Yoda.

Family and friends will gather on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, from 3:00-4:30 p.m., where Bob will lie in repose in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

A life celebration service officiated by Certified Life Celebrant Maria Merida-Asch will take place at 4:30 p.m. at the funeral home, and to which all are welcome. If you wish to have a memory read on your behalf and are unable to attend, please submit your thoughts by clicking HERE and kindly ensure you provide your full contact information. If you are having difficulty, please send an email to careteam@wrightfamily.com.

For those who might be unable to be with the family in person, the life celebration tribute will be live-streamed with the link being active starting at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Interment will be private.

You are encouraged to visit Bob’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in Bob’s memory be made to Hunterdon Hospice whose care and dedication during Bob’s final days will never be forgotten. Please click HERE to make a contribution online or you may mail your donation to: Hunterdon Health Foundation, 9100 Wescott Drive, Suite 202, Flemington, NJ 08822.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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