Ilene Harward Olsen Ilene Harward Olsen, 94, whose lifelong creed was "Find JOY in the Journey", passed through the veil on January 31, 2019. Ilene was born with blonde hair and blue eyes on November 16, 1924 to Ozias Harvey and Montez Bell Harward.  She was the oldest daughter in a family of 13 children.  She loved spending her young childhood in the farming town of Aurora, Utah where "everyone was poor but they just didn't know it."  She learned the importance of work early as she gathered eggs, churned butter, carried wood to the wood burning stove and herded the cows two miles to pasture.   In 1933, during the Great Depression, Ilene's father was forced to move to Provo to find work, leaving the family to manage the farm in Aurora.  The following year, the city canal broke and flooded the farm.  Montez wrote to Harvey and said "Come and get us.  We will all go to Provo and starve together." Ilene graduated from Lincoln High School where she excelled on the debate team, choir, and was a member of the Tigerette drill team.  She was also named valedictorian of her class and earned a scholarship to BYU.   As a senior class officer she organized class reunions for the next 75 years and maintained life-long friendships with her classmates.    During "field day" of Ilene's 9th grade year she became interested in Clyde Olsen. He was tall dark and handsome and reminded her of the movie star Robert Taylor. As they got to know each other better they would pick strawberries and raspberries during the afternoon, pool their money and go on a special 55 cent date: 10 cents for a gallon of gas, two 15 cent movie tickets and three 5 cent hamburgers. During their senior year Pearl Harbor was attacked ushering in WWII.   After graduation, Clyde went to work for Boeing Aircraft in California. He returned with a homemade ring compliments of the Boeing Aircraft machine shop. On Labor Day, he proposed to Ilene at the Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone National Park. In Ilene's own words, "Thoughts of school and my scholarship at BYU vanished from my mind". Ilene and Clyde married on December 16, 1942 and were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on April 27, 1944. They both went to work at Columbia Steel helping to construct the Geneva Steel Mill in Orem. During the next few years they constructed their first home, doing most of the work themselves. They even logged and cut their own lumber from the West Fork of the Duchesne River.  After 9 years of trying and a pause while Clyde served in the military in Korea, Ilene & Clyde were blessed with 4 children in 5 years with one more to come 5 years later. Over the next 25 years Ilene & Clyde, while raising their family, founded several business together including: Olsen Building Specialties, Mountain States Steel, Western Warehouse and Utah Pacific Steel.    Ilene's accounting skills and her love of people were the wind beneath Clyde's wings. Ilene was a life-long learner.  She spent many years contributing and participating in her children's education by serving in the PTA.  Later, she continued to encourage and support her grandchildren in their higher education pursuits.  Ilene was the eternal optimist and her enthusiasm for life was contagious. Her joy came from nature, music and service. She observed and appreciated the beauty of God's creations.   She loved to watch the stars and visualize images in the clouds.  Many of us remember her sing-alongs around the campfire. Over a 20 year period Ilene sang in The Harward Olsen Sisters Trio with IvaLee and Gae.  They performed at firesides and provided comfort to others at hundreds of funerals. In her own words Ilene said "It was such a blessing to express my love and testimony of the Gospel through music, the universal language."  She was an avid BYU Cougar fan and has rarely missed a Basketball game in the past 60 years. In 2002 Ilene found great joy as she participated in a humanitarian trip to Kenya with the purpose of supporting women in starting their own micro businesses.  Ilene served in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints throughout her life. She loved her many callings including Primary chorister, Blazer scouts leader, Primary President, Young Women, Choir director, RS President and Temple worker. After Clyde's passing in 1994 she also served a full time mission in Albuquerque , NM.  She loved everyone she met and was widely known as "Grandma Huggie". Her Christ-like gift of reaching out to others made them feel God's love and empowered them to reach their full potential. She was preceded in death by her husband, Clyde, son, Brent, parents, Montez and Harvey Harward, 4 brothers, and 2 sisters. She is survived by her sons, Craig (Katrina), Clark (Claire), and Gary Olsen and daughter Julie (Jim) Byron, and daughter-in-law, Susanne (ElRay)Olsen/Roper;  19 grandchildren, 50 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandchild.   Two sisters, Eva Bell Smith, and Gae Olsen, and 4 brothers, Val (Fern), Kenneth (Margene), Ronald (Betty), and Terry (Gayle) Harward. We appreciate the professional medical care provided John Staheli, MD, as well as our angel nurse, Annette Gwilliam and her team at the UVRMC Wound Clinic.  We are indeed grateful to Clyde for having the foresight to plan for Ilene to spend the sacred time of her last months in her own home.  A warm thank you to Sr. Partners and Envision Hospice for making that possible. Ilene loved to celebrate life each and every day! She spread joy each day with her dependable birthday phone calls to those on her list of over 1,500 friends and loved ones.  She celebrated each new year by calling hundreds while ringing bells and banging pots and pans with childlike enthusiasm.  No call ever ended without Ilene's "I love you!" Today she is continuing to find JOY in her eternal JOURNEY as she celebrates with her eternal sweetheart, Clyde, her son, Brent, and other loved ones! Please join us for a joyful celebration of Ilene's life to be held on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS Chapel located at 56 East 600 North Lindon, Utah.  A visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 6, 2019 from 6-8 p.m. at Walker Sanderson Mortuary, 646 East 800 North, Orem and at the church on Thursday, February 7, 2019 from 9:30-10:45 a.m.