“…A place to just go and talk to Barry”

Her goal was to plant 46 trees—one for every year her son lived.

At her first Gift Trees planting in December, OraLee Olson planted 21 trees in memory of her son, Barry Cooper Olson, whom she lost last year to depression and alcoholism.

As of today, Olson’s friends and family have ordered nearly 75 trees to be planted in Barry’s memory: a lasting gift of remembrance to the mother of an outdoors enthusiast.

“It means an awful lot to me,” said Olson, who intends to have all the custom cards that come with Gift Trees hanging from an evergreen at an upcoming memorial service. “He was very concerned about deforestation and the Earth,” said Olson.

A native Oregonian—born in Eugene and reared in Bend and Portland—Barry loved his field study courses at Portland State University that took him out into the Old Growth.

“We knew he was going to be a biologist from childhood,” said Olson, remembering her son’s fondness of the nature center at Sunriver Resort.

Barry was an ASE Master Mechanic until he had an accident and broke his neck, limiting his ability for the strenuous work.

When he decided to re-enter school, Barry was unfazed by retaking general science courses, even making the dean’s list at Portland Community College before graduating in 2008 from PSU with a double-major in Biology and Philosophy.

“(Barry) was hoping to be a part of conservation efforts in forestry or fish and wildlife,” wrote Olson. “He had a great love for Old Growth forests and hoped to make a difference in helping to preserve them.”

This spring will be the one year anniversary of Barry’s passing. Olson said she will plant the remainder of her Gift Trees with her daughter at the next planting, March 28.

In memorial letters to loved ones, Olson requested remembrance gifts be made via the Friends of Trees Gift Trees program, which plants at the Metro-owned Collins Sanctuary near the Audubon Society of Portland.

“It was important for Friends of Trees, Portland, the Earth, all the way around,” said Olson. “It also gives me a place to just go and talk to Barry.”

“I miss him so much.”

–Toshio Suzuki