Cory Deanne Olson
Cory Deanne Olson, 70, passed peacefully on May 2, 2022 surrounded by all of her children and grandchildren. Cory was born on December 31, 1951, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As a toddler her mother, Amy (Terry) Hunter, moved Cory and her 3 brothers to Des Moines, Iowa, and the family eventually settled in Phoenix when Cory was 7 years old. Cory graduated from Camelback High School in 1970. She attended Northern Arizona University for 3 years, then completed her final year at Arizona State University with a degree in Sociology.
Cory LOVED life and all of life’s possibilities. She loved nature, adventure, and she especially loved people. She showered those she loved with every bit of positive energy she could muster. Even those that she just met or did not know well, she always made sure they felt comfortable, enriching their lives with a smile, a hug, or good conversation and a warm meal.
Everything Cory did in life revolved around serving people. For many years she worked as a stay-at-home mother. Later in life, with her four kids grown, she followed her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit and started her own massage therapy company. She later worked for Hospice of the Valley for many years as a grief counselor, and was instrumental in creating Grief Gone Wild, an outdoor program to help grieving teens.
In 2014 she was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which was eventually confirmed as Alzheimer’s disease. She maintained an incredibly positive spirit in spite of the diagnosis. She never ceased being an amazing mother and especially excelled in her favorite role as grandma, or “Noni”. She continued to live life to its fullest and made sure the people she loved knew it, for as long as she could.
Cory is survived by her son Micah Olson and his wife Erin, their 3 children Caleb, Matthew, and Lukas; her son Kirk Olson and his wife Karen; her daughter Anna Joy Flint and her husband Dan; and her son Han Olson and his wife Anna.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 11, 11 am at The Farm at South Mountain.