Olaf Arvid Gjormand

Olaf Arvid Gjormand, 90, of Vienna, Va. Passed away peacefully in his sleep on August 2, 2026. Olaf was born on January 15, 1936 in Stavangar, Norway. Olaf was the son of the late Konrad Gjermundsen and Randi Ravndal. In 1940, looking to flee Hitler and Nazi Germany in WW II, Olaf and family emigrated to Brooklyn, New York. Upon arriving, Olaf’s father changed the last name to Gjormand and the family resided in Bay Ridge.

While growing up in Brooklyn, Olaf met the love of his life, Eileen Catherine Durkin, who preceded him in death in 2024. They married in 1953, after Olaf graduated from a vocational and technical school in Brooklyn. After moving back and forth between Virginia and New Jersey, Olaf moved into his forever home in Vienna, Va. In 1963. After graduation, Olaf joined the Air Force and was stationed in Montana. Once finished in the Air Force, Olaf started his career with the Federal Aviation administration, as an Air Traffic Controller. For most of his Career at the FAA, Olaf worked at the Leesburg Command Center, before finishing up his final years before his retirement in 1994 at the Washington, DC command center as a military liaison officer.

Over the years, Olaf had various hobbies and interests, such as boating, art and wood working. In the early years Olaf enjoyed boating and taking his family out on the Chesapeake Bay on weekends in the summer. Olaf also loved doing art work and especially enjoyed drawing and painting. Olaf also had a love of wood working and really enjoyed doing so while working in his yard over the years. Olaf also made himself available as much as he could by volunteering his time to assist in coaching his sons’ various sports teams in baseball and football. Olaf really enjoyed his summertime vacations spent with his family over the years. Most summer vacations were spent on the Eastern Shore, sometimes in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware, but mostly at the Main House in Ocean City, Maryland. Olaf loved to sit on the deck(Or at the bar inside the house) and watch down below as his children and grandchildren had a great time playing and relaxing on the beach. One of Olaf’s(At the demand of Eileen) favorite Gjormand traditions was the annual “Flocking” of the Gjormand family Christmas tree. It was a great holiday tradition, despite the challenges in getting it done, and is still a fond memory in family story telling all these years later.

Outside of spending time with his family, Olaf’s greatest joy over the years was “Going up to town”, which everybody in the family knew meant was going up to his favorite restaurant, The Virginian. Though mostly an introvert, Olaf loved his interactions over the years at the Virginian. Whether it was friends who were patrons or the numerous owners and waitresses at the Virginian, Olaf loved seeing and saying hello to all of the familiar faces there over the years. For about the past 10 years it became a Sunday morning tradition for Olaf and his kids and grandkids to join him most Sunday mornings for breakfast at the Virginian. This brought Olaf overwhelming joy and he really relished his Sunday mornings at the Virginian.

Olaf is survived by his 5 children; Deirdre Magee(Marty), Brian Gjormand(Sheri), Christopher Gjormand(Pam), Mark Gjormand(Beth), Ryan(David)Gjormand(Kristen) and his nine beautiful grandchildren; Brittany(Michael), Courtney(Justin), Scott, Michael(Carly), Matthew, Samantha, Josh, Trevor and Carlee.

The family will hold a private memorial service when they can all be together to celebrate his wonderful life.