Merlin Olsen has filled a lot of roles: one of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome," a television priest and farmer, a sports commentator, spokesman for a florist, motivational speaker and telethon co-host.
But the role he most values - and works at - is that of family man; devoted son, father, brother.Olsen will be the keynote speaker for the sixth annual Governor's Conference on Families Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Salt Palace Convention Center and Abravanel Hall.
Olsen came from a large Utah family. Lynn and Merle Olsen had nine children; half of them still call Utah home. He attended Utah State University, where he met and married Susan. Thirty-one years and three grown children (Kelly, Jill and Nathan) later, the Olsens are in the process of moving back to Utah.
All of his careers have taken him away from home a lot, which has given him a chance to really think about family and what makes a marriage work.
"Marriage is a great deal of work on both sides," Olsen said in a telephone interview. "I don't think you can hold together without a partner who has enough love and patience and compassion . . . who's fun to be around."
A solid marriage requires time and patience. Raising children has even more difficult demands.
"With family, the biggest challenge is we are not really well prepared all too often . . . to go through what we need to do. It seems like it just happens. Parents spend a lot of time reacting to things."
Football players have a "plan." Parents often must wing it, learning as they go, Olsen said.
He intends to talk about what it takes to make good parenting choices. For instance, expectation: "We get into the negatives, where we're so busy telling children, `No, don't do this.' `No, don't do that.' If we expect our children to challenge us, if we expect them to fail, that's what happens."
If parents look for and expect the good, that's what they will find.
"Self-image is such an important thing. It dictates so much of what we are and what we think."
One of the obvious - and most difficult to conquer - challenges parents face is use of their time, Olsen said. "There are so many things competing for that use. So often the one who causes the most problems gets all the attention."
Olsen's as busy as ever. Besides his other projects, he'll take part in a planned "Little House" reunion soon. He's still the spokesman for FTD florists. And he's looking at other acting roles - "things I really want to do, which is great."