William (Bill) Olinger, 91, passed away peacefully at home in Great Falls on October 7, 2021. Bill was born in Glasgow, Montana on June 18, 1930 to Thomas & Ernestine Olinger, the eighth of nine children. He grew up in Glasgow, graduating from Glasgow High School in 1948. He was a proud Glasgow Scottie.
After serving his country, he attended Montana State University and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1958. After college, he moved to Oregon where he worked civil service for the Army Corps of Engineering. In January 1971, he began work for the Army Corps of Engineering’s anti-ballistic missiles in Conrad, Montana. There, he met the love of his life, Frances (Fran) Frank. When the Conrad site was closed, he moved to Langdon, North Dakota, continuing his work with the missiles. He and Fran married on June 23, 1973 in Great Falls, Montana. They resided in North Dakota until moving to Sierra Vista, Arizona in November 1974.
In 1987, he retired from civil service and became a full time stay at home Dad. He stayed busy in retirement - grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring the kids, and taking care of the family dogs. He took great pride in his kids and enjoyed various activities with them. In 1993, the family moved back to Montana to be closer to loved ones. Bill was especially close to his father-in-law Don Frank, who he considered his best friend. Together Bill & Don attended Centerville Senior Citizens where Bill served as treasurer. He was named Senior Citizen of the
Year in 2000. He also took up an old passion of his and bowled on a league once a week until he was 88.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, visit the O'Connor Funeral Home website.
