Ken Olsen Memorial Service

A public memorial service for Ken Olsen was held at A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel on Saturday, May 14. A reception at the Ken Olsen Science Center followed the service—the only public memorial service to honor Ken. The Olsen family had asked that the public service be held at the College because of Ken’s love for and longtime connection to Gordon.

Nearly 800 people attended, including former Digital Equipment Corporation employees—some from as far away as Japan and Australia. Among the speakers were the president of M.I.T., Dr. Susan Hockfield; Gordon’s president, R. Judson Carlberg; and Ken’s son, James Olsen, president of the worldwide Digital Alumni Association.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for the ‘family’ of DEC, Ken’s family and friends, the Gordon and M.I.T. communities, and many others to come together to remember and honor a great man,” said Dan Tymann, executive vice president of Gordon.

“Olsen saw science and Christianity as complimentary. And when he died on February 6 this past year at age 84, it was clear that the legacy he left for us was the same as what he’d begun at Gordon back in 1961: a vision for truth grounded in Scripture and explored in science.”
Read Jud Carlberg's tribute to Ken Olsen...

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