A lifelong environmentalist, Olin grew up in a small Nebraska town on the Platte River, where the wildlife of the Central Flyway and thick surrounding forests spurred his interest in biology, botany, paleontology, zoology and geology.

He left his pre-med studies to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1942. In October 1944, he shipped out as a medic with the 42nd Infantry, the famous ‘Rainbow Division.’ A chaotic landing at Marseille in the south of France was followed by weeks of chasing Nazis north, until entering the Ardennes forest, where the coldest December in decades stalled troops in what would be dubbed The Battle of the Bulge. After sweeping into Germany, the 42nd Infantry was one of two divisions claiming liberation of Dachau concentration camp in April, 1945.

Olin stayed in Europe after the war ended, studying and teaching biology at the U.S. Army’s Rainbow University for G.I.'s in Zell am See, Austria.

In 1948, he married his sweetheart Ardis Stava and in 1950, obtained an undergrad degree from the University of Nebraska. Graduate studies at the University of Kansas and two children followed.

He traveled summers in Mexico collecting mammalian specimens for the university. One happy summer was spent studying marine biology at Friday Harbor, Washington.

Colorado became home in 1955 and they welcomed a third child. Olin showed his children the wonders of the mountains and deserts of The West. His employment was association management, but his interests remained scientific. He loved studying alpine flora, woodworking, hiking, traveling and gardening. He is survived by his loving family and many friends who, although now all younger, kept him young at heart.