EVERETT — In life, there are those who love their jobs and those who don’t.
Gerald “Jerry” Olmstead, 51, loved his. It showed each and every day.
For five years, he worked part time as a groundskeeper at Everett Community College.
All the while, he hoped to land a full-time position.
His patience and work ethic were rewarded recently. He was hired full time, beginning Nov. 17.
He beamed for days, several times telling his boss, EvCC’s facilities department director Thom Watson, “I won’t let you down.” He’d say the same thing to his co-workers.
On Dec. 6, Olmstead was killed along I-5 near Smokey Point. He was a passenger in a Dodge Ram that pulled over onto the highway’s shoulder. Olmstead got out to secure the load in the truck’s bed.
When traffic suddenly slowed down in the nearest lane, an Arlington man, 23, swerved into the shoulder to avoid hitting the cars in front of him, according to a Washington State Patrol memo. Olmstead was hit and died at the scene.
The day before, Olmstead was gleeful as he hand-delivered holiday wreaths across the EvCC campus.
“Just wait,” he told office worker Joy Lott. “It’s going to be beautiful.”
“He was just super excited about making other people happy,” Lott said.
Co-workers described Olmstead as a gregarious, conscientious and colorful man with a love for metal working and a sweet tooth for Twinkies. He took pride in wearing the reflective vest that said “Staff” on the back. It was a badge of honor.
Olmstead, who was born on Christmas, also was the guy who would bring in a box full of doughnuts for his colleagues each Wednesday and drop off dishes for barbecues, even if he couldn’t attend. He’d faithfully give a ride to a co-worker who didn’t have a car, play Santa Claus for a good cause and find homes for kittens.
“He always put in extra effort for everything he did,” said Brent Sall, a fellow groundskeeper. “He was just like the best dude.”
Olmstead was ever mindful of the children at the school’s daycare center, never wanting to interrupt their routine or make noise during their rest time.
He grasped the importance of not only making the grounds inviting aesthetically, but also in how people treated one another.
“He saw the big picture of why his work mattered,” said lead groundskeeper John Syson. “I think Jerry understood the value of the first impression.”
Olmstead was a 1981 Meadowdale High School graduate. He served in the Navy and spent 19 years working on ships in the Bering Sea off Alaska. A few years ago, he earned an associate’s degree in technical arts in welding from EvCC. While a student, he was hired by the college’s maintenance department under a work-study program. He stayed on part time afterward and worked other jobs while keeping a foothold with the college maintenance department.
One of those jobs was on the grounds crew at Harvey Field in Snohomish. He could have worked full time there, but chose part time because he wanted to stay on at the college, airport manager Cynthia Hendrickson said.
“He was a wonderful person,” she said. “He would do anything for anybody. He always looked at any challenge as an opportunity.”
At EvCC, Olmstead found a home away from home tending the grounds and gardens around the campus.
“Jerry loved this place,” said Molly Beeman, a manager with the facilities department. “He loved being a part of the campus.”
Olmstead took particular pride in the school’s rose garden near the president’s office on the west end of campus.
He also had a knack of striking up friendly conversation with staff and students.
Christopher Nickles, an instructor who works with dropouts on completing high school studies, recalled a spring day when he was taking a break and playing his flute in the Japanese garden behind the Nippon Business Institute building. There were blossoms everywhere and Olmstead was working among the plants.
As Nickles was preparing to leave, Olmstead thanked him, saying it was a special treat to be able to work in that setting while enjoying the music.
“He had a rare quality that few possess, which is to make a person immediately feel like they have been friends for ages,” Nickles said.
The week before the accident, Nickles was walking on the campus with his flute under his arm. Olmstead drove by on a cart, stopped briefly and reminded him of that glorious spring day.
Memorial services are pending.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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