Obituary of Thomas H. Olver

Born March 5th, 1927, died February 6th, 2015 in Regional Hospital in Scranton. He was the oldest son born to the late T. Horace Olver and Helen (Fuelleborn) Olver. He grew up in Beach Lake on the Lakeside Farm and Boarding House. Tom attended the Beach Lake School, worked on the family dairy farm milking cows and doing summer haying. In his spare time, he fished, hunted and ice skated. Tom would have graduated Honesdale High School in the spring of 1945, but joined the United States Marine Corp In January of 1945 at the age of 17, finishing High School in the military. He is survived by one brother, Congressman John W. Olver of Amherst, Massachusetts, and seven nieces and nephews: Martha Olver of Amherst, Mass.; Andrew and Stephanie Olver of Troy, PA., Elaine and Rich Schweinsburg of Waymart, Eliece Rybak of Damascus, Randy and Desiree Olver of Honesdale, Trudy and Robert Derrick of Beach Lake, and Julie and Fred Stanton of Honesdale. He is preceded in death by a sister Mrs. Elsa Olver and her husband Andrew; a sister-in-law Rose Olver, and a nephew Dave Olver. If you knew Tom, you may remember him as a carpenter at the Monticello Raceway; but many will recall that he was on the Wayne County Baseball League All Star Team. With the Honesdale Ramblers he was a speedy outfielder and a dangerous runner who gave opponents fits on the bases. Tom's baseball career on the Honesdale Ramblers spanned more than three decades as a player, manager, and umpire. He had a hand in five different championships, and retired as skipper of the Honesdale Ramblers. He was inducted into The Wayne County Sports Hall of Fame September 25th, 2004.. In more recent years Tom turned his time and talents to skiing. He was a member of The International Ski Instructor Association, the Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance, and the Professional Ski Instructors of America. He was an extremely exceptional skier and instructor. Tom could have instructed in any top ski school in America, but he loved the people of Wayne County and Beach Lake. He chose to teach us and our children, and impart to us his love and talent for skiing, most recently at Mast Hope Ski School as Director and Instructor. If you were a golfer, you may have seen him on the greens, but if you were truly close to Tom, you would have been with him in the woods. With your gun in hand, and enjoying Tom's black lab or chocolate lab, you would have been hunting the pheasants or turkeys with him in the Beaver Brook Rod and Gun Club. As his family, his nieces and nephews, we knew Uncle Tommy as a very special person. We honor him; he is our hero. He fought for our freedom in WWII, and at the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. We honor him for his love for America. Our America is free yet today because men like Uncle Tommy were willing to put their lives on the line for America's freedom. He deserves our honor. All who knew Tom were privileged to know a man of integrity, loyalty, faithfulness, kindness, courage, and moral uprightness. He was fun loving and always treated ladies with the utmost respect. He will be greatly missed by those of us who treasured him. Friends and family may join us at the Bryant Funeral Home Wednesday evening February 11th from 5-8 pm to honor the life of Tom Olver. Then on Thursday February 12th at 11 am in the United Methodist Church in Beach Lake, a service will be held, with a one hour visitation just prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Cpl. Thomas H. Olver, Jr. may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675; or the Dave Olver Wrestling Memorial Scholarship, c/o Fred Stanton, 628 Grove Street. Honesdale, Pa 18431.