Picture of Olaf from 1973 yearbook class photo

Mother – Charlotte F. Teske 1931 – 2000

Olaf grew up at 690 Pine Beach North in Dorval. Olaf and attended Surrey Gardens Elementary School and Dorval High School. Olaf was fluently trilingual (spoken and written) in English, French and German (mother tongue). Olaf was naturally athletic and was a fast runner. He liked swimming, diving, pick-up soccer and football. Olaf had a handsome German Shepherd dog named Pollux who was fiercely loyal and protective. Olaf had a great sense of humor and liked to make people laugh using his quick wit. One time, when we were about 7 years old I asked Olaf to teach me some German. He said that he was teaching me to say " Hello Madam, how are you this fine day?" and, after days of practice and memorization, I tried it on Charlotte, who replied in English , "Yes we have our work cut out for us, don’t we?" I didn’t get it until years later when I looked in a German-English dictionary and what I was really saying was "Please Madam, excuse my English accent". Olaf’s bedroom had a linoleum floor that had roads and bridges and forests on it and he would have his friends over to play "dinky toys" on it. Often Pollux would come in the room and kick the cars around and then pick one up in his mouth and leave. It was not easy asking a dog that outweighed you for your Dinky Corvette back! Due to Charlotte’s influence, Olaf also had a strong appreciation for classical music, especially Mozart. He was well ahead of most of us in terms of appreciating the complexity and richness that life has to offer. Olaf’s favorite snack was a ketchup sandwich. That’s it.. two pieces of bread and ketchup. Olaf was very bright academically and excelled in math, languages and chess. In elementary school, (we were much too young for dating then) Olaf had a sweet spot (who didn’t) for Cathy Stinson (grade three), Kathy Bedard (grade four) and Nancy Armitage (grade five). Olaf always said that when he would start dating that he would invite his girlfriend to Surrey pool so that the water would wash away any make up and that he and she could truly see each other as they really are. May God bless his innocence. Georg Teske was a mechanic for Quebec Air. He built a 25 foot fiberglass cruiser boat in his basement and backyard and eventually took Olaf and Charlotte on many pleasure cruises on the St. Laurence river. Georg was a Luftwaffe pilot during the second world war and was shot down and spent several years as a POW. Olaf would tell his father’s stories, but Georg asked him not to, so he eventually stopped. Charlotte was trilingual as well. When Olaf was 11 Georg took the family to Barcelona for a four week vacation, Olaf (of course) came back with a working knowledge of Spanish as did his mother. They are survived by Olaf's step-brother and his family, who live in Germany. They are buried in the Rideau cemetery on Blvd Des Sources in Dollard Des Ormeaux, Montreal.

Thanks to Ken Douglas for Olaf's bio!