Timothy Paul Olmstead

Timothy Paul Olmstead, 67, died Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, in Sacramento, Calif. He was born to Juanita and the late Paul Olmstead on July 25, 1946 in Beebe, Ark. Tim was raised by his stepfather, Arthur Eugene Olmstead and Nita. He graduated from Central High School in 1964 and Hendrix College with a BA in Economics in 1968. Shortly after graduating, he signed up and served Active Duty and seven years in the National Guard Reserve Unit. Tim's first job post-college job was working for Dun & Bradstreet in Little Rock as a Credit Analyst. In 1974, he moved to Fayetteville, Ark. where he co-founded a sporting goods store, Ozark Mountain Sports and worked as an owner/manager from 1974-1988. There, surrounded by like-minded friends and family, he developed a love and respect for the outdoors, becoming especially passionate about navigating the scenic rivers of Arkansas. Tim and wife, Cheri Kohler Olmstead, lived in Fayetteville, raising their three children together for almost 30 years. Tim was a former member of the Arkansas Canoe Club and had been a Red Cross Certified Canoe Instructor. Tim later worked as a realtor with Lindsey and Associates in Fayetteville from 1988- 2002. He eventually followed his family to California where he lived the remainder of his life. He was an outdoorsman, an avid reader, a great supporter of his local library wherever he lived, and a crossword puzzle solver "extraordinaire." Tim is survived by his mother, Nita Olmstead of Beebe, Ark.; two brothers, the late Art Olmstead, Guy Olmstead of Searcy; three daughters, Tracy Austin of Los Angeles, Brooke Govenar and Barrie Olmstead of Sacramento; four granddaughters, Fiona, Lily, Annabel, and Eloise who loved their Granddaddy Tim. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in his honor to The Buffalo River Foundation, The Sacramento Public Library Foundation or the Fayetteville Public Library Foundation. His life will be celebrated in a memorial gathering at Turner Bend by the Mulberry River where he loved to canoe.