Dan Olander believed in fixing what he could and leaving things better than he found them.
 Born in Minneapolis and raised in Litchfield, Dan graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College before serving as a Lieutenant aboard the USS Arnold J. Isbell during the Vietnam War. He held critical roles as gunnery officer, officer of the deck, and DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter) controller, earning the National Defense Service, Vietnam Service, and Vietnam Campaign medals.
 Following his 1968 discharge, Dan worked as a management consultant and small business owner in Minneapolis. He married Charyl Dotson in 1975 and raised their son James by example. After moving to Rogers, Ark., in 1994, he led a Salvation Army Angel Tree program for 25 years.
 Dan looked for the best in people and spoke ill of no one. When disappointed, he went to work. As a Scout leader, dedicated community volunteer, and neighbor, he led with gracious spirit and dry humor. He loved early mornings in a duck blind, and decades of fishing and hunting trips with friends and family.
 Preceded in death by parents, Richard Karl and Lillian Louise, and brother, John Olander.
 He is survived by Charyl, his wife of 50 years; son, James and daughter-in-law, Jessica; grandchildren, Elin, Neve, and Theodore; and all those who learned from his example that character is built in quiet moments when no one is watching.
 A memorial service will be held at Fayetteville National Cemetery on Friday, November 7, 2025, at 2:30 p.m.
 Memorials can be made out to Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.