World War II veteran Rich Olund celebrated his 100th birthday sipping coffee with his best friend at his favorite diner, Lumes Pancake House in Palos Heights.
He drew quite a crowd. Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters and Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau even stopped by to wish the local centenarian a happy birthday at a table Lume’s servers decorated with balloons for their oldest regular customer.
Joining Olund were his longtime friend and neighbor, Jon Wall, and his best friend, Ernie Yamich.
Over breakfast, Olund shared stories of a life shaped by resilience, service, and family, tracing back to his South Side roots during the Great Depression.
In 1924, Olund was born to Swedish immigrant parents, Alex and Elenore.
As a boy, Olund said his family moved around a lot in search of stability until they finally settled in the West Lawn neighborhood near 62nd and Tripp. That made friendships hard to come by.
“Friendships were rare,” he said. “But the constant change taught me resilience and adaptability,” lessons that served him well.
Olund’s life took a pivotal turn in 1943 when he was drafted during World War II. Initially ordered to join the Navy, he switched to the Army at the urging of his fiancée, Dorothy.
“She told me, ‘Rich, you’re going to look silly in that [sailor] uniform,’” he said with a smirk.
Dorothy was a friend of Olund’s neighbor. The moment they met, Olund said he was immediately captivated. To impress her, he would bike near her home and make excuses to visit.
After he was drafted, Olund made sure to write to her at every opportunity. “I didn’t even write to my family,” he said. “I made sure to always write to Dorothy.”
As a surgical technician in Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army, Olund provided medical and dental care to soldiers on the front lines across France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. He recalled his experiences with calm detachment, including vivid memories of D-Day and bombings over Belgium.
“I was 19—I didn’t give a damn about anything,” he said.
After returning home in February 1946, Olund found that his family avoided discussing his wartime experiences. “No one mentioned the war when I came home,” he said. “It was typical.”
By June of that year, he married Dorothy, a union that lasted 63 years until her death in 2009.
“Dorothy was everything to him,” said Ernie Yamich, Rich’s friend. “He lived and breathed for her.”
As a civilian, Olund studied television engineering and began a 40-year career with General Electric, retiring in 1988.
Olund and Dorothy, raised two daughters, Victoria and Claudia.
Today, Olund continues that legacy by supporting his granddaughter, Rachel, and her teenage children, Zachary and Jasmine, who live with him.
Getting older hasn’t been so bad because he remained active and in good health, Oland said. It wasn’t until around age 98 that he reluctantly began wearing glasses after cataract surgery, he said, not to be confused with bragging.
Until recently, Olund said he kept busy with woodworking projects in his garage and even continued driving. “The day I met him, he was building a cabinet in his garage,” said his neighbor, Wall.
At 100, Olund enjoys simple things, like breakfast outings at his favorite diner with his best friend, Yamich.
That may not be the secret to longevity, but it’s a fine way to celebrate living a century.