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Monday, January 8, 2001
Four thousand attend McKale Center service
Associated Press
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TUCSON, Ariz. -- Bobbi Olson was remembered Sunday for her
elegance, grace, hospitality and even her long shopping binges
during a two-hour memorial service at McKale Center.
The wife of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson was 65 years old
when she died New Year's Day after a two-year battle with ovarian
cancer.
|  | | Sylvia Ferber, a former Arizona cheerleader, looks over some family photos prior to Sunday's service for Bobbi Olson. As part of the ceremony, the McKale Center court was renamed the Lute and Bobbi Olson Court. |
About 4,000 people attended the service, which was televised
live by all three television stations in Tucson and by Fox Sports
Net.
As part of the ceremony, the McKale Center court was renamed the
Lute and Bobbi Olson Court. The floor had been proclaimed Lute
Olson Court near the end of the 2000 season.
"Thanks for your smile and for your wink," former Arizona
player Bruce Fraser said. "Thanks for the constant reminder that
everything is going to be fine. Thanks."
There was a private funeral service Friday with about 500 people
in attendance.
Bobbi Olson was diagnosed with cancer nearly 2½ years ago after
initially feeling ill while on vacation in Budapest, Hungary.
Doctors surgically removed a blockage in her intestines. During
the procedures a sizable mass was discovered. The Olsons had
doctors from Tucson fly to Hungary to begin the rehabilitation and
chemotherapy.
"What was supposed to be a fun and cultural experience turned
into a nightmare," said Paul Wietman, an Olson travel companion
and longtime family friend. "She truly was the ultimate wife,
mother, grandmother and friend to us all."
Bobbi Olson underwent additional medical procedures in December,
prompting Lute Olson to miss a road game Dec. 9 at Connecticut.
Lute Olson asked for an indefinite leave of absence two days
before his wife's death.
Also attending the memorial service were current team members,
at least a dozen former players, former assistant coaches and U.S.
Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz.
"Mrs. O meant so much to all of us," current Wildcats forward
Richard Jefferson said. "She always knew what to say, when to say
something and how to say it."
Stories were recalled about Bobbi Olson's extensive shopping
exploits, making apple pancakes for recruits when they first
visited the school and for being a second mom to the players.
There was also a request that her regular seat in McKale Center,
in Section 16, Row 2, Seat 5 be retired. Two flowers rested on her
chair during the memorial.
Bobbi Olson is survived by three daughters, Vicki, Jodi and
Christi; two sons, Greg and Steve; and 13 grandchildren.
The family has asked that any remembrances be made in the form
of contributions to a memorial fund in Bobbi Olson's name at the
Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson.
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