Doris M. Olson, 65, winner of the Miss Illinois beauty pageant in 1951, died Saturday at home in Westlake, Ohio. A native of Harvey and a graduate of Thornton High School, Mrs. Olson competed in the Miss America pageant after being crowned Miss Illinois. She worked full time as a model for Marshall Field’s before meeting her future husband, Richard Olson, on a blind date at the 1953 College All-Star football game in Chicago. The couple married the following year and moved to Annapolis, Md., where Mr. Olson had graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was a coach on the Navy football team. Mrs. Olson traveled with her husband to assignments in Pensacola, Fla., the Miramar Naval Air Station in California and a football coaching job at Drake University in Iowa. The family moved to Mr. Olson’s hometown of Lorain, Ohio, in 1961. In 1972, Mrs. Olson was named Mother of the Year by the Lorain Journal. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Olson is survived by four daughters, Denise Duffy, Diane Reichl, Deneen Uhrman and Dorie; three sons, David, Donald and Richard Jr.; a brother; and 16 grandchildren. Services will be Tuesday in Ohio.
