Roger Oliver loved the Donor Closet from the very beginning.
It was 1999, and the fledging group, officially called MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Helping Hands-MSHH/Donor Closet, was brought to Oliver’s attention by his wife. Carol Hahn suggested he see if he could help out. Founder Bill Brayer said he wasn’t sure Oliver would stay very long.
“All it took was for Roger to see the look, the smile, on the face of a woman who we delivered a free scooter to in a South Everett apartment complex,” Brayer said. “She immediately rode it all around the apartment complex parking lot. She was no longer confined to her small apartment. She had tears in her eyes when we left.”
From then on, Brayer said, Oliver was his right hand man.
Brayer started Donor Closet after he received a wheelchair, bed and other medical equipment someone didn’t need. He sent a note to 500 folks on a multiple sclerosis email list.
That’s when the idea of recycling medical equipment took off.
Oliver, who used a scooter himself because of bum knees, spent six days a week at the Edmonds location.
His handiwork is everywhere, Brayer said. Oliver installed the main automatic entrance door, rewired the building, installed new lighting and safety equipment, and more recently designed power units to make it easier to keep electric wheelchairs and scooters charged.
Roger Oliver, 76, of Edmonds, died June 12 of congestive heart failure. He was born in Renton, where his father was an electrician and his mother tended to four children. Oliver graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle, worked for Boeing for 40 years and served in the U.S. Army. He is survived by his wife and children, Richard Oliver of Alaska and Wendy Lyon of Montana.
When he met Hahn, they found they were kindred spirits who loved to laugh, she said.
“He didn’t get too hung up with nonsense,” she said. “He was easy to be with.”
They both volunteered at the Edmonds Historical Museum. They loved to travel, she said, and both favored prairie scenery. On one trip they drove a motorhome to Florida.
“We were gone three months,” she said. “It was a good trip.”
Oliver loved food, his wife said. He enjoyed trying new restaurants, especially ethnic places. He liked to watch the History Channel and old movies.
The man, who wore black twill pants and T-shirts, acquired cats and was interested in city politics, trivia, opera, Boeing airplanes and crossword puzzles.
When folks spoke, Oliver listened.
“He paid attention,” Hahn said. “He learned to like strangers. That’s not something you can say about a lot of people.”
During the annual Fourth of July parade in Edmonds, Oliver led the Donor Closet Scooter Drill Team, playing marching music from the sound system he mounted on his scooter.
“On the days leading up to the parade, Roger would often disappear by going into downtown Edmonds and serenading the city with his patriotic music,” Brayer said. “You could hear him coming a mile away.”
On the down side, Oliver was known to run over feet when he backed up his scooter.
“Roger and Carol were living proof that just because one has physical challenges, life isn’t over,” Brayer said. “If an area wasn’t user-friendly, they let the powers know about it until something was done to correct the situation. Both of them were strong advocates for physically challenged people.”
Most of the appearance of the Donor Closet is attributed to Roger and his ideas, Brayer said.
“His knowledge of scooters made it easy for those looking for one to get exactly what they needed.”
Oliver was a person who didn’t need to ask, his friend said. If he saw a need, he fixed it.
“He was very innovative,” Brayer said. “He was an exceptionally clever person.”
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com
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