Florence Neff Olson passed away on February 17, 2021, at home at the age of 89. She was born during the Great Depression at home in Sandy, Utah, on November 8, 1931, to Violet Ray and George Washington Barr Neff. She was the eighth of nine children. Florence was preceded in death by her husband (Ferrin Davis Olson), parents, and siblings. She is survived by her four children – Sherry (Eric) Schomaker, Dennis (Jana) Olson, Barbara (Neil) Merrill, and Larry (Deanna) Olson. She has left a wonderful legacy of nine grandchildren, 32 great grandchildren, four great-great grandchildren, and 22 step-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held for the family at the Alpine Stake Center, 98 East Canyon Crest Road, Alpine, Utah, on March 1, 2021.

Florence will be remembered by many for her skills in organic gardening and growing beautiful orchards and amaryllis in her home. As Florence became an expert in identifying plants and their properties, she started teaching outdoor field survival classes in identifying edible and healing herbs. During the winter months Florence taught the field survival classes indoors. Rather than identifying the actual plants, Florence taught from slides she had taken of over 500 different plants. Wanting to expand her knowledge further, she earned her degree as a massage therapist. She was instrumental in establishing the first Massage Therapy Association of Utah.

Florence enjoyed and loved life. Many good people of all ages and walks of life came into her life. She considered each one of them a teacher and incorporated some of their good advice into her own life. Not forgetting many elderly friends, Florence would visit them in their homes or rest homes. They would tell Florence about their good and fun times and hardships of their days and of the various methods of doing things in order to survive - an art and knowledge that has sadly been lost to our modern times. Florence took the elderly, who could not do so on their own, shopping or to pay bills or to visit their families and friends. Sometimes she would take them on rides with a lunch to the canyons or other places of interest. They enjoyed learning about the plants at their feet and the names of the birds above their heads. Florence found that some of the most fun, knowledgeable, and fascinating people are the elderly.

Florence did not feel that she needed to be in a church to worship God. She found God was with her at all times and she could worship wherever she happened to be. She appreciated the beauty of all religions even if she did not agree with all of their teachings. She had a strong belief in prayer and that God does answer prayers. Her children were given their freedom to follow their own convictions as they pleased. She did try to instill in her children the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit and not leaning upon the flesh.