CAROL TRUMAN CASE OLSON
5/28/1930 – 3/3/2021
Carol Stanleigh Truman was born in 1930 in Oakland, California, the oldest child of parents Dr. Stanley and Marjorie Truman, and sister to James. She cherished lifelong memories of hiking and camping in the Sierras with her family. A favorite summer holiday visit for Carol and Jim was to their grandparents' sheep and cattle ranch in the northern Sacramento Valley, where they spent time with their younger cousin Jacquelin Aubin, who lived with their grandparents James F. and Jacquelin Mallon and their uncle James DeVere Mallon. There they could enjoy outdoor adventures as well as up-close-and-personal interaction with lambs, piglets, calves, and other young animals.
After graduating from Piedmont High School, Carol entered Stanford University, during one summer going on a bicycle tour in post-war Europe. She attended the University of Washington to earn her teaching certificate, and in 1951 married Austin McClain Case who attended medical school there. She gave birth to Stanley E. Case in 1953 and to Deborah L. Case the year after. From 1955 to 1957 they lived in Cheaumont, France, where he was stationed while serving in the Air Force.
Two more children, Marguerite R. Case (1956) and Austin C. Case (1959) were born, to be raised in Seattle on Capitol Hill and later in Magnolia. Carol was a devoted mother who hosted family events, organized excursions to the cabin at Illahee, volunteered for the PTA as well as raising two Great Danes and many other family pets. In 1969 the family moved to London, England, to pursue advanced training, where she earned her master’s degree in educational therapy at Antioch while attending courses at Tavistock Clinic. Working with children in her private practice and also with adolescents at the in-patient psychiatric unit at Royal Free Hospital in London, she also relished London culture and excelled at her hobby of pottery.
Carol married Fred Olson in 1987, soon after which they settled on Whidbey Island. They shared the happiest years together, square dancing, travelling frequently to Europe and Japan, and spending time with their children and grandchildren. They were members of the One Drop Zendo Association, which they helped found in 1995, in the Double Bluff area on Whidbey Island, and the Tahoma Zen Monastery, under the guidance of abbot, Shodo Harada Roshi (Zen master), which later gave rise to the Enso House hospice.
At about the same time, they together started the International Folk Dancers group, under the teaching of the professional Sonny Newman from the Mountaineers Club in Seattle. Dances were held weekly at the Bayview Hall for many years. Seeking to renew their Christian roots while continuing their devotion to Zen Buddhism, they along with another couple started the South Whidbey Unitarian-Universalist Congregation in the early 1990's. The Congregation has now built a church, which stands in rural Freeland. In her later years Carol was an active member of the Langley Methodist Church, its Adult Forum, as well as book clubs she and Fred started.
Carol's warmth, wisdom, humor, wide ranging interests, but also her childlike innocence is remembered by so many. As her granddaughter, Laura, writes: "Grandma Carol was a beloved mother/grandmother/wife/aunt, an avid traveler, a spiritual seeker, an advocate for religious tolerance and mental health, and a beautifier of all her surroundings. I remember her calligraphy, her hand decorated Easter eggs, and her poetic holiday letters. She cherished ritual, prayer, and spiritual community of many types. She was delighted when I converted to Judaism and since then has closed all her emails with a Jewish prayer or saying. Alongside her reverence she had a good sense of humor and enjoyed the spirit of rebellion. I fondly remember her suggesting we eat dessert first on her birthday, because why not?"
A wonderful mother, grandmother, aunt, and great grandmother, she was preceded in death by her beloved daughter Deborah, husband Fred, and brother James. Carol is survived by her two sons Stanley Case, Austin Charles Case, and daughter Marguerite Case. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or Doctors Without Borders.
Family and friends are encouraged to share memories and photos on her memorial pages at whidbeymemorial.com; information will be posted there soon about a virtual memorial planned in May. An in-person memorial may follow at a later date.