Forrest Lee Olson loved being with people, playing sports, teaching and coaching, and watching action movies. He was happiest when playing ball with friends or being with his wife and young daughters. At St. Joseph Grade School and Rice Lake High School, team sports were his favorite pastime. However, being a big, strong athlete did not stop brain cancer. In 2003, he developed an astrocytoma and he died four years later at the age of 33, after a long series of treatments that he faced unafraid. Forrest loved living in Rice Lake during his growing up years. He was a star basketball player for the Warriors and at UW-Oshkosh Titans. Forrest married Darla Innes in 1999 and graduated from Michigan Tech with a teaching degree in the social sciences. He loved his daughters, Brooke and Brynn, and made his family home in Hancock, Michigan. Both he and Darla taught high school and coached basketball. The mottos of Live Strong and Live For Today applied to Forrest. He lived by cherishing the people closest to him and enjoying life to the fullest. With a strong faith, he faced the brain cancer with gratitude to all who cared for him and a confidence that rose above all the disabilities he encountered. The Forrest Run was established in 2011 as a way to remember Forrest and to involve the Rice Lake area community in supporting people during their struggle with brain cancer and to support medical research. Rice Lake teachers and friends, Darla Olson and FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) advisor, Kelly Orr, imagined a way to raise funds for people living with brain cancer and use the organizational skills of student business leaders. The FBLA students have provided the structure for the Forrest Run at the UWBarron County Campus. Forrest’s parents, Rod and Carol Olson have organized a board of directors to facilitate the distribution of the Run’s donations. Grants are given to assist families in northern Wisconsin caring for someone with primary brain cancer. The Fund also gives to research at the University of Minnesota Brain Tumor Program where a major effort is being made seeking a cure for brain cancer. Live for Today To date, the Forrest Run has provided nearly $40,000 in grants to families struggling with the pain of brain cancer, and $12,000 to research. Many people and organizations who have donated time and treasure to this endeavor see it as a labor of love. We know Forrest is smiling as he sees the gift his memory is giving!

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