O. L. Futrell

Olga Lewis Futrell – fiercely loyal family man, extraordinary anesthesia innovator, devoted dog owner of Ollie, car connoisseur par excellence, and quite frankly, the man who knew everything—departed this earth on July 20, 2020 of natural causes.

There was no half-way for O.L. – he committed fully to any endeavor he took upon himself to learn – inspiring in his children and grandchildren the same values of perseverance, independence, and tenacity.

As a young man, he joined the Army as a Lab Technician and loved to tell the story of how he narrowly missed being deployed to Cuba in 1962—an event that solidified his desire to fulfill his service in the medical field rather than on the battlefield. Service was in his blood, and he chose to devote his life to continued service by becoming one of the top Certified Nurse Anesthetists in his field. Sleepless nights and weekends spent in the OR were exhilarating, and he used to proudly say, “I am here to help anyone and everyone that is in need.”

Fast cars, fast planes, and family vacations that entailed some type of river rafting, banana boating, or snow skiing down huge mountains reflected his no holds barred attitude, and one of his proudest achievements was earning his pilot’s license in 1990. He loved flying that four-seater Cessna, talking your ear off about the instruments, the numbers, the patterns. He was a lover of all things scientific and flying was science in action. In those moments, up there in the air, he was perhaps closest to the sun, the moon, and the stars that so fascinated him.

A prolific reader, O.L. could be found perusing Carl Sagan’s latest work, the most recent discoveries in anesthesia techniques, and any historical fiction novel he could lay his hands on. He loved watching old westerns on TV and had a strange affection for watching botched plastic surgery shows.

One of the best things about O.L. though was his ability to just sit in silence with you. He cherished the quiet and gentle moments that exist in the unspoken between people. There was a sweetness underlying his boldness and a genuine love of directness and truth. So long as you sat in truth and were trying to be an honest person, you were just fine in his book.

He was true to the core, loved his family, his work, his cars, and his dog. He was ready to go, and true to his own forthrightness, let us know it had been a life well-lived. We will miss him and his indelibly unique mind and spirit. He was incomparable.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Blanche, his father, Ollie, and his sisters, Melba, Jean, Marie, and Dorothy.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon, his children, Julie, Ami, Kristin, Kelly, and Todd, and his grandchildren, Lyndsay, Jared, Nathan, Shelby, Benjamin, Cash, Sam, and Austin.