RACINE - Mary Ruth Clunie Olson died peacefully at her residence on March 12, 2015, sleeping in her own bed beside the love of her life. Mary was born in Racine on June 5, 1938, to the late Milton Orville John and Geraldine May (nee Koehler) Clunie. She was a lifelong resident of Racine. On August 21, 1965, she was united in marriage to Robert William Olson at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, after they met and fell in love during a summer program for teachers at Harvard University, the Harvard-Lexington Program. Together they proceeded to share two children and almost fifty beautiful years together. Mary had a sparklingly brilliant mind and deep intellectual curiosity, which enabled her to grasp a wide range of subjects and think clearly and compassionately about the world around her. She graduated from William Horlick High School in 1956. Four years later she earned a Bachelor's degree in education, magna cum laude with minors in music and geography, from Wisconsin State College at Whitewater. She remained in Whitewater for graduate school, where she became the first woman to be awarded a Master's degree there (in education). Mary went on to teach fifth grade at S. C. Johnson Elementary School before having children, and worked later for many years as a much sought-after substitute teacher in the elementary and middle schools of the Racine Unified School District. The days she spent teaching special needs students at Jerstad-Agerholm Middle School were especially meaningful for her. Her gifts as an educator were rooted in her natural ability to create a calm, positive, organized environment in which even the most troubled students could succeed. She touched many lives in the classroom and beyond by modeling positive, productive ways of thinking—and of treating others.As intellectually talented as she was, Mary was equally emotionally intelligent, self-sacrificing, and other-directed. Family was the core of her life. She was a devoted wife, mother, and daughter who dedicated her every waking moment to nurturing and protecting her loved ones. She poured tremendous energy into shaping her children's minds and spirits. She helped her daughter through every step of writing her Ph.D. dissertation, and one of the happiest days of her life was when she purchased a Selmer tenor saxophone for her son, who is now a professor of music. A quiet, gentle soul, she was trusting and generous with everyone she met. She was the treasurer at Our Savior's Lutheran Church for decades and kept the books for her son's Boy Scout troop for many years as well. She loved to do logic puzzles for fun and knew virtually all the answers on every episode of Jeopardy. Mary loved to take road trips. She traveled often as a young woman to watch her brother perform with the Racine Kilties Drum and Bugle Corps and to see traveling Broadway shows, especially those by Rodgers and Hammerstein, in Chicago with friends. Later in life, she enjoyed many long drives with Bob to Greenville, South Carolina, to visit their children. She could recite the entire 800-mile route by heart. Like her mother, Mary loved to shop and was a person of extremely good taste. She tolerated the goofy humor of her husband and kids with bemusement and responded when she felt like it with her own dry wit. She was a knowledgeable sports fan who loved NCAA basketball and Major League Baseball. Her prowess in the annual Olson March Madness basketball pool became legendary. It was one of the few venues in which she was willing to reveal her quiet competitiveness. She also loved gardening, animals, chocolate, sitting Indian-style, and the Channel Four News.She is survived, and will be missed and remembered every day, by her husband; children, Laura Ruth Olson and Matthew William (Amy Shelley) Olson; nieces, Sarah Kathleen Clunie and Amy Elizabeth Clunie; cousin, Joanne Olson (Kenford) Nelson; and many friends, neighbors, and former students. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Thomas John Clunie, and sister-in-law, Deborah Rutherford Clunie.Now departs a noble heart. Goodnight, sweet Mama; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.A memorial service for Mary will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, March 21, 2015, at 3:30 pm. Relatives and friends may meet with the family at the funeral home on Saturday from 2:00 pm until the time of the service at 3:30 pm. Memorials may be directed to Atonement-Our Savior's Lutheran Church. Mary's family would like to thank Dr. John Martini, Dr. Subbanna Jayaprakash, and Wheaton Franciscan Hospice for providing excellent and compassionate care.