Rosita Morgan Olson

Rosita Morgan Olson, long-time resident of Tenafly, New Jersey, and Quechee, Vermont, passed away peacefully on April 20, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. Born to George (Ted) and Rosa Seeley of Englewood, NJ, Rosie lived a life defined by devotion to family, faith, grace, and generosity. She was the beloved wife of the late Jack Morgan, with whom she shared four children, Jeffrey (and Molly) Morgan, Jill (and the late Paul) Fader, Suzanne (and Steve) Wajda, and Jonathan (and Cathleen) Morgan. After Jack’s passing in 1991, Rosie found love again and remarried in 1995 to Phillip Olson, becoming a cherished stepmother to John (and Peg) Olson, Julie (and Frank) Benning, Jim (and Toni) Olson, Jennifer (and Peter) Smith, and Jeffrey (and Lesley) Olson. Her legacy lives on in her 25 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, all of whom were a source of great joy in her life. Rosie was born in Lima, Peru in March 1932 and spent the first seven years of her life there with brothers Ted, Fred and her sister Juanie. The family moved to Englewood, NJ in 1939 living in a Mountain Road house that would define many of Rosie’s childhood memories, as did her closeness and devotion to her siblings which lasted her entire life. She attended the Dwight School and later graduated from Rosemont College in 1954. The Seeley family spent their summers on Chapoquoit Island on Cape Cod and Rosie developed many life-long friends from her time on the Cape. One of the most endearing gifts Rosie left us are the love letters her husband Jack wrote to her while he was at home in Tenafly, and she was on the Cape the summer before they married. In December 1956, Rosie married Jack and started raising her family in Tenafly, NJ where she lived for over 50 years. She was active in the community, serving as President of the Junior League of Bergen County and being a faithful member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for decades and most recently St. Therese of Lisieux Church. She was a member of both the Englewood Field Club and Knickerbocker Country Club, where she had a mean backhand on the tennis courts and cheered on her children, despite their mediocre athletic talents! Off the court, she was ahead of her time by becoming a habitual runner and developing an interest in healthy eating. She ran exactly one mile every day for decades and adapted her cooking to follow gourmet healthy recipes. These pursuits continue to inspire her children and their spouses. The one thing Rosie never quite surrendered was her sweet tooth. Dessert after lunch and dinner (she was particularly fond of butter pecan ice cream and chocolate chip cookies) was not to be messed with. After raising four young children, Rosie started working at Dwight Englewood as the manager of their bookstore in 1976. In 1981, she became a certified financial planner and worked for Cigna and later United Jersey Bank as a Vice President in their Trust Department. Before her retirement in 1995, Rosie was critical in spearheading an effort to help women take control of their finances for UJB. After Jack’s premature passing in 1991, Rosie found the perfect partner in Phil Olson. They purchased a second home in Quechee Vermont where they spent half the year and developed dear friends. Rosie and Phil spent the next 20 years hiking, biking, playing tennis, golf, taking classes at Dartmouth and listening to Phil play piano and sing in the choir, or in the living room. Rosie and Phil were also intrepid travelers visiting Singapore, Bali, Norway, Russia, Greece, Italy, Spain, the Dalmatian Coast, the Rhine River and numerous parks and beautiful spots in the US. To celebrate her 70th birthday, Rosie and her sister Juanie took a memorable trip to Peru in 2002 where they climbed Machu Picchu and basked with the seals in the Galapagos Islands. Rosie, Juani and son Jeff also went on a memorable trip to Cuba in 2009 to see her mother’s family’s roots. Rosie spent her last years under the devoted care of her children, her aides and the many staff at Sunrise in Cresskill. The family wants to express its deep gratitude to Carmen Perez and Renata Modzelewska for their love and attention to Rosie these past few years. Rosie faced the challenges of dementia with great grace, gratitude for her family, and a smile, even at the hardest times. She is an inspiration to her family and friends and her legacy will live on through everyone she touched. There will be a funeral mass celebrated on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 10:00am at St. Therese of Lisieux Church in Cresskill, NJ. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider a donation to Rosemont College, a place Rosie cared for her entire life. Gifts can be mailed to Rosemont College Advancement Office, 1400 Montgomery Avenue, Main Building, Third Floor, Rosemont, PA 19010 or at https://rosemont.edu/college/office/advancement/giving/