Remembering Our Beloved Mother – Diane Foster Olson

Diane Foster Olson

Diane Carol (Foster) Olson died on December 10, 2024, in Santa Monica, at the age of 95 surrounded by her loving family.

Diane was born in Columbus, Ohio, on August 21,1929, at the start of the Great Depression. She lived in Ohio with her beloved parents, John Thomas Foster, and Carol Puetz Foster; her younger sisters, Suzanne Verdin Foster and Joan Thomas Foster; and her younger brother, John Thomas (Jack) Foster.

She began her university education, first at Oberlin College, and then at the University of Wisconsin (UW) for her junior and senior years. Diane was a popular member of the drama department at UW, winning the Best Actress Award twice. She graduated in 1951, with a degree in art history. Diane’s love for the theater took her next to the Cleveland Playhouse where she starred in many of their plays and then to New York, N.Y.

That was where she fell in love with and married Robert (Bob) Daniel Olson (1918 - 1974). Bob was also a devotee of the theater and liberal politics. They bonded over their support for Adlai Stevenson and opposition to Ethel Rosenberg's execution.

Diane and Bob moved to Metuchen, New Jersey, when their family started to grow. Their house in Metuchen was filled with happy children, bookshelves overflowing with books, and a menagerie of pets, including multiple dogs, cats, parakeets, rabbits, gerbils, fish, a turtle, a dove, and an African goose.

Diane leaves behind these five heartbroken children: Fred, Carol, Max, Sarah, Edward, and her loving stepdaughter Claire who called her Mother, nine grandchildren (Diane, Suzanne, James, Sam, Patrick, Ben, Sandy, David, and Cara), two great grandchildren (Everett and Adelaide), her sisters (Sue and Joan), her brother (Jack), two nephews (John and Andy), and two great-nephews (Jack and Alex).

From a young age, Diane was engaged in the world around her: she paid close attention to the natural world, as well as the world of politics and policy. Her day in California was not complete without a walk to the ocean, hoping for a glimpse of dolphins. As a young mother, she accepted every stray her children brought home. More recently, and in between bird and tree sightings, she signed petitions to care for elephants and fought for animal and human rights until the day she died.

Diane’s influence on her family and her community was profound. Her trenchant online opinions about the news of the day were eagerly read by all who knew her. In her last decades, she marched against corporate control of the federal government, for gun control, and in support of many progressive candidates.

But, Diane wasn’t all principles and polity. Along with her family, she enjoyed swimming, films, books, music, and attending any and all sporting events in which her family members were participating (basketball, crew, football, tennis, track, and field).

She loved opera and would have liked her children to share this love, but they failed her spectacularly, (except for Max who developed a fondness for opera from watching too many Bugs Bunny cartoons). Regardless, Diane didn’t hold it against them.

She was much too compassionate, empathetic, and interested in others. Her children did not fail her when it came to books and movies. They often shared favorite books and enjoyed many movie nights together. Diane left behind a list of suggested films to view: everything from Z to The Shop Around the Corner.

As her children were growing up, Diane navigated a successful career as a research librarian. The success came from her deep knowledge of and interest in most subjects. She started working locally at the Metuchen Public Library, then moved on to the Library of Science and Medicine at Rutgers University (where she received the University Merit Award), the Institute of Fine Arts Library at NYU, and finally the UCLA Medical Library in California. She also starred in many plays in New Jersey, including Mornings at Seven, and served on the Metuchen Cultural Arts Commission, including two years as its vice president.

Above all, Diane Olson was a loving matriarch. She has left behind a deeply-grieving family who loved her beyond measure for all the telephone calls, homemade meals, bedtime stories, laughs, kisses, hugs, birthday pies, and dinners at her favorite neighborhood restaurant, Spumoni.

Diane was laid to rest in the Eternal Meadow section of Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, on Saturday, May 24, 2025. The Eternal Meadow is a wildflower meadow consisting of native California plants that provides habitat for the region’s native birds and pollinator insects like the endangered monarch butterfly, one of Diane’s favorites.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of these charities in honor of Diane’s memory and her love for monarch butterflies and elephants: Monarch butterflies: https://xerces.org/monarchs/western-monarch-conservation and Elephants: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

By Carol Olson Coote