Calvin Olsen, 38, who built up a tribal auto detailing business, dies in mobile home park fire
- Mark Sabbatini
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Car enthusiast helped launch Sacred Shine for Tlingit and Haida’s employment training program; hardships occurred after a serious injury last year and recent diagnosis of cancer
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Calvin Olsen helped launch the auto detailing shop Sacred Shine by convincing local tribal officials of its worth — and his own — which provided job training to other tribal citizens as the business grew. He then took a construction job with the tribe until departing a year ago after experiencing struggles due to an injury. A couple of weeks ago he learned he had pancreatic cancer.
On Saturday his struggles ended tragically when he died in a fire at Switzer Village Mobile Home Park. He was alone at the time and his wife, Jennifer (See Éi) Olsen, said he had gone to Bartlett Regional Hospital earlier that evening because of the pain from his cancer, but returned to the trailer because he was too afraid to seek treatment.
"He got to the hospital and I was on the phone with him, and he had just a panic attack," she said in an interview Sunday. "He said, ‘I'm not going in there.’ He had his brother drop him back off at the trailer and he said, ‘Come back in an hour and check on me, and see if I feel better to go,’ And his brother went back and the trailer was on fire."
The cause of the fire, reported to emergency responders at about 7:30 p.m., is still under investigation, according to a Juneau Police Department information release issued Sunday.
Jennifer Olsen, who was not in Juneau when the fire occurred, said she learned about it when her brother sent her a photo of the trailer engulfed.
"The last thing that we said to each other was that we loved each other," she said, describing her phone conversation with her husband earlier that night.
Calvin Olsen’s involvement with Sacred Shine, launched in 2018, was hailed for how it helped those working there and the community by Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
"Sacred Shine was kind of his brainchild, and he had been in our work development program and been a hard worker, and kept saying ‘You know, this would be a good business. This would be a good business,’" Peterson said on Sunday. "And he had such good work ethic, we took a chance on him. And he really was a hard worker and really built Sacred Shine into something."
Calvin Olsen had a longtime interest in vehicles and worked as a detailer in Ketchikan for many years, his wife said. He moved to Juneau in 2016 to be with her after they met by chance, since she was a lifelong resident of the capital city, and they married in 2018.
He took a job with Tlingit and Haida, and "one day, he noticed one of CCTHITA’s cars was still a little dirty after it came back from being cleaned and he offered to work on it," according to a Juneau Empire article published when Sacred Shine opened.
Calvin Olsen became the shop’s lead detailer after taking part in Tlingit and Haida’s Employment and Training Program, according to the business’ website. The site also notes "Sacred Shine has helped tribal citizens gain skills that allowed them to secure gainful employment, transition off of social service program, and maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle."
“My experience with them has been amazing,” Calvin Olsen said in a statement published at the site. “They have helped me gain experience and tools for employment and have opened up the doors to a great career! Tlingit & Haida has been a blessing.”
Peterson said he got his vehicle detailed at the shop, which Calvin Olsen "started out almost as a one-man shop, and quickly started adding employees and building reputation. And so he built it up to their multi-person team."
"He was a phenomenal — I mean, the guy's attention to detail, and he was really committed to customer satisfaction," Peterson said. "He took a lot of pride in his work."
Calvin Olsen eventually took a construction job with the tribe, resulting in a serious injury in April of 2024, his wife said.
"He broke his pelvic bone," she said. "He was carrying too much weight and was jumping off the back of a truck, and as he landed it fractured his hip."
Recovering from that was a struggle and then he experienced pancreatitis in May of this year — not knowing it might be an indicator of a more serious problem, Jennifer Olsen said. She said her husband hasn’t worked since leaving the tribe about a year ago, and has been struggling with alcohol addiction and was seeking treatment until his cancer diagnosis.
"The last week that he was there his stomach was just giving him a hard time," she said. "They brought him to the hospital and that's when they told him about the cancer. He had two days to finish treatment, to get a certificate and all that fun stuff, but he left and he went home."
Calvin Olsen also experienced other struggles during the past year, including three arrests on misdemeanor charges. Court records show no other cases for him since 2015, before his move to Juneau.
Peterson said it's been several months since he’s talked to Calvin Olsen, following his departure from the tribe a year ago.
"I’m just kind of heartbroken to hear this," Peterson said. "I really liked Cal and his family — Jennifer, his wife — and they were just hard-working, and really trying to make a difference in their lives and for their kids."
Jennifer Olsen said memorial and other arrangements for her husband haven’t been finalized yet. She said he had friends throughout Juneau, but it’s also difficult knowing he spent the last part of his life in such pain.
"Calvin, he was a good dad," she said. "He loved, he was loyal, he just loved his family."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
