On Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, Willard Webster Olson passed away peacefully at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at age 75.

He was born Sept. 16, 1939, to Webster and Frances Olson in El Dorado, Kansas.

He is survived by his wife, Chiung Hwa Ko, the love of his life for 25 years; his only son, Eric; three daughters, and one stepdaughter, Andra, Britt, Ann Jennifer, and Kim; 11 grandchildren; two brothers, Willis and Douglas; and one sister, Karen. He is also survived by nieces, nephews, and numerous friends who loved him dearly.

After graduating from the College of Emporia with degrees in biology and chemistry, Willard Olson became a teacher and consultant for Intel and Motorola. He held a patent regarding “the method and apparatus for pattern classification using distributed adaptive fuzzy windows.” In 2012, he published two books by the Red Anvil Press: “Tin Tabernacles: How Religious Fundamentalists Took Over the Republican Party,” and “From Homo Erectus to Homo Sapiens: The Origins of Human Behavior.”

Funeral services will be held at Messinger Indian School Mortuary at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2014, at 7601 East Indian School Road in Scottsdale, Arizona.