Enoch Olson
Like his biblical namesake, Enoch P. Olson was known as a man who walked with God. On Friday, July 10, 2026, he completed that lifelong walk by entering the actual presence of his Savior. He died peacefully at his home in Ludington, Michigan, at approximately 8 p.m. with his wife and granddaughter by his side. He was 96 years young.
Enoch was born on Feb. 1, 1930, in Grand Island, Neb., to Rev. Peter A. Olson and Miriam A. (Nelson) Olson, both first-generation Swedish immigrants who met in America. The oldest of two children, Enoch’s sister Ruth was born eight years later. When Enoch was 5 years old the family moved to Bay City where Peter pastored Bay City Evangelical Free Church. As a boy, Enoch was immersed in the life of the church and enjoyed summer ministry at Rainbow Lake Bible Camp where he fell in love with being with people and with adventures in God’s creation. In early adolescence he would hitchhike north with a canoe to go camping and fishing alone with his Creator. Recognizing his dyslexia, an elementary school teacher taught him to read using books about birds, which captivated him. Enoch later credited her with “saving his education.”
As a teenager at Bay City High School, Enoch thrived in sports, pitching for his baseball team and playing football. At age 16, his father was diagnosed with tuberculosis, upending life for the family as Peter spent several years in and out of tuberculosis sanatoriums. Enoch left his sports career to work, taking on the responsibilities of caring for his mother and young sister. After school he would work until bed, pumping gas, delivering newspapers, and selling kitchen knives door-to-door. At home he raised hundreds of rabbits, selling their meat, hides, and feet to make ends meet. He continued to carry this responsibility while in junior college in Bay City, working at a local grocery store and becoming a butcher – the guaranteed path to management! These years forged the work ethic and drive that later propelled him to accomplish remarkable things for the Kingdom.
After high school, Enoch saw his friends drafted and sent to the Korean War. He was designated 4-F for medical reasons, and so directed his talents to civilian life instead. Enoch had intended to pursue a career outdoors as a naturalist or park ranger. When many of his peers did not return from the war, he saw his exemption as God’s provision for his family, who depended upon his support, and protection for the ministry that lay ahead. He came to understand that God’s protection carried with it a call to vocational ministry.
These experiences shaped his life and calling.
Upon his father’s return home, Enoch continued his education at Trinity Seminary and Bible College in Chicago, Ill. (now Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Trinity International University), graduating on June 5, 1959 with both a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and a Bachelor of Divinity in Biblical Theology.
While at Trinity, Enoch met Nancy Anderson of Moline, Ill., who was in nursing training at a Swedish hospital. They married in 1956, and welcomed two children, Mark Stephen in 1958 and Christine Elizabeth in 1960.
Enoch began his career as a pastor at Grace EFC in Rockford, Mich. where he served from 1958 to 1963. Enoch and Nancy then moved to Rockford, Ill., where he pastored Alpine EFC from 1963 to 1968. While there, his childhood friends from Rainbow Lake Bible Camp in Bay City were determined to start a Christian camp, and wanted Enoch to be the founding director. After declining their invitation six times, he finally understood that the invitation was from God, not just his friends. Spring Hill Camps (now SpringHill) was incorporated in 1969 with Enoch leading the effort for three founding Evangelical Free Churches in Michigan.
At the time of Christine’s birth, Nancy was diagnosed with cancer. She prayed that God would grant her ten years to raise her young son and daughter, and she enjoyed a decade of health, entering heaven precisely ten years to the month from her humble request. This evidence of God’s providence, secured Enoch’s unshakeable trust in the God who sees, cares, and provides.
In time, Enoch asked his trusted friends to help him to find God’s choice to become his wife and mother for his children. He was introduced to a recent widow with two young sons Loren – age 5, and Jon Paul – age 2, from the farming community of London Mills, Ill. After only months of courtship conducted mostly through letters (with only two in-person meetings) Enoch and Joan (Morey) Bovee were married in Lincoln, NE on April 25, 1972. Their blended family became a testimony to generations of how to embrace grief and loss while trusting in the sovereignty of a God who promises to provide. Sorrow melted into joy, watering a home marked by hospitality, ministry, and laughter. Though Enoch did not set out to adopt more young children, he embraced that responsibility as a great honor, modeling a generosity that marked his life.
Together he and Joan led the camp from 1972 through 1995, overseeing growth from only 256 campers in its first season to tens of thousands of campers year round when he retired from the camp. Enoch is renowned as a leader in Christian camping throughout the world. His philosophy was that the gospel would be ‘caught, not taught’ as lovingly attractive counselors poured their lives and God’s love into their charges. This effective model became inspirational to others. (Read more about Enoch’s camp legacy at springhillexperiences.com)
In 1987, Enoch willingly surrendered the executive leadership functions of Spring Hill to his son, Mark, who had been involved in the ministry since ten years of age. Enoch delighted to serve Mark through donor development and strategic planning for the remainder of his career.
In 2001, he was painfully asked to surrender Mark to his Lord at the tender age of 42, after a brief and courageous battle with leukemia. Eighteen years later, he grieved the death of his daughter, Christine Olson Ahlstedt, who died of cancer at age 59. These losses tested but never diminished his confidence in God’s sovereign care.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Joan and Enoch both served summers in the former Soviet Union, casting vision and helping to launch Christian camping there. Enoch returned for five years; stories from those trips include nights in prison cells and sputtering airplanes.
In ‘retirement’, Enoch has continued a productive life of writing and teaching Bible curriculum to Men’s Bible Study groups and Adult Sunday school groups at his churches in Ludington and Scottsdale, Az. Unafraid to learn new ways to share the gospel, Enoch embraced technology, even formatting his own curriculum for widespread distribution up to the present day. A charismatic teacher and storyteller, he is beloved by generations of staff from SpringHill and the churches where he has invested his life, and has been the officiant at countless weddings and funerals. He especially loved to hear when someone named their son ‘Enoch’, though admittedly a rare delight.
He was a Founding Elder at Trinity Fellowship EFC in Big Rapids and Crossroads Community EFC in Evart as well as an Elder at Trinity EFC in Ludington and taught a weekly 6:30 a.m. Men’s Bible Study at Highlands Church in Scottsdale during the winter season for many years. He sang in choirs, acted in dramas, and encouraged other reluctant introverts to do the same. His enthusiasm was infectious. Everything he did had a quality that revealed the creative, intelligent, joyous, magnificent character of God.
To list his interests and hobbies would exhaust the reader. Gardening, fishing, carpentry, travel, bird watching, photography, and designing and building houses top the list. He could stand on a hill and see the contour map in his head, pointing and saying, “We could put a 15-acre lake there.” He bought a new ‘tractor’ (lawnmower) when he was 95 rather than ask someone to mow his yard.
His passion, though, was people. He loved his neighbors and was determined to know each one, demonstrating uncommon interest and caring. He faithfully shared the hope he had in Jesus and the good news that God loved each one of them passionately.
Enoch will be remembered for his ‘Swedish hum’, his long legs, his storytelling (and embellishments), his absolute delight in Joan, his mischievous smile, twinkling blue eyes, and pranks, his ability to bring Scripture to life for hearers of any age, his faith that was evident in his anticipation of what God would do when we acted and prayed, his humility, and his submission to God’s sovereign will in a life equally measured in pain/grief and joy/love.
Enoch is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joan Olson; his sister Ruth Olson Greenough; sons Loren (Michelle) Bovee-Olson and Jonathan Paul Olson; grandchildren Amelia Rain (Sean), Abraham Boone, Clara Joy (Robert), Jack Lewis (Katie), Annika Rylie, and Anders Pieter. He was eagerly anticipating the arrival of his first great-grandchild (Clara/Robert) in October.
He looked forward to joining his loved ones awaiting him in heaven: his parents, Peter and Miriam, his wife Nancy Anderson Olson, his son, Mark, and his daughter, Christine. What a joyful reunion that must have been!
Funeral services will be held for Enoch at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 25 at Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Ludington. Friends may meet with his family for a time of visitation on Friday evening from 6:00-8:00 pm, and on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. until time of services all at Trinity Church. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be available by live stream and video-recorded.
To honor Enoch’s ministry at SpringHill, a Celebration of Life and Reunion will be held at SpringHill on August 22. Details can be found at springhillexperiences.com. We respectfully ask those who knew Enoch primarily through his ministry at Spring Hill to prioritize this gathering.
Those who wish to remember Enoch with a memorial donation are asked to please consider SpringHill Camp. springhillexperiences.com.
Please visit Enoch’s memory page at www.wymanfuneralservice.com to share a tribute or memory of Enoch with his family.
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