COLLEEN OLINGER April 25, 2025
Colleen Elizabeth Olinger, age 84, passed away on April 25, 2025. She was born in Pioche, Nevada, to Allie and Jim Cox and grew up in Hamilton Fort, Utah. Colleen received her B.A. at the University of Utah and later earned her M.A. degree in geography at the University of Chicago. It is there she met her husband of 56 years, Bart Olinger.
After finishing her degree, Colleen worked as a teacher and a social worker in the Chicago area. She and Bart moved to Los Alamos in 1969, where Colleen was hired as a park ranger at Bandelier National Monument. They were lucky to be able to reside in the park, and it was there that Miles was born, his birth certificate proudly naming Bandelier National Monument as his place of birth. When later they moved back into town, Seth joined the family. Colleen began work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1978, where she did environmental analysis of various projects, including moving the historic Romero Cabin from LANL property to a location adjacent to Fuller Lodge.
From LANL, Colleen moved on to purchase the existing Ojo de Dios bookstore in town and move it to larger quarters by the science museum and give it the new name Otowi Station Bookstore. With larger quarters, she enlarged the book selection and added a science/museum shop: it became a pillar of the Los Alamos community. At the same time, she started Otowi Crossing Publishing Company and edited and published important books and maps on local history, including Lady of the Canyon, Evelyn Frey and the Caja del Rio map.
Ever eager for new challenges, Colleen went on to lead the Aspen Dendroglyph Study in the Valles Caldera National Preserve from 2008 to 2024. The project compiled and documented the carvings on aspen trees by the early ranchers, sheep herders, and loggers from the late 1880s to the 1950s. The project won a National Volunteer award in 2010 presented by Michelle Obama.
In addition to all this, Colleen earned her pilot’s license, learned blacksmithing, ran the Boston Marathon, supported the Los Alamos Living Treasures program by interviewing and doing write-ups, and traveled to Russia as part of the Los Alamos business exchange. She kept in touch with her college Indonesian roommate with visits to Indonesia and helped finance the granddaughters’ education. Colleen loved Irish music, jazz, baseball and her dogs. She and her husband loved and collected American Indian art. And needless to say, Colleen collected books, she had an eclectic collection. Most of all, Colleen loved to travel, visiting 6 of 7 continents, jumping at any opportunity that came her way.
Colleen was preparing to host two Afghan students this summer. She worked hard to prepare a comfortable room for them at her place. She had already been in touch with them via cell phone conversations, each getting to know one another before their arrival.
Colleen was generous, enthusiastic, smart, and loved life. We will miss her greatly.
Colleen is survived by her sons Miles and Seth, her sister Anita (Claire), two brothers Rod (Paul) and Jimmie (Molly), nieces and nephews, and friends.
A memorial gathering is planned at Fuller Lodge on May 30, 11am-1pm. Memorial contributions may be made to Caldera Action https://caldera-action.org/ , Friends of Bandelier https://www.bandelierfriends.org/ or https://www.afghanscoutsdurham.org in memory of Colleen.