Oliver died March 27, 2004. He was born in December 1921 and grew up on a family farm in North Dakota, graduated from Crosby High School in 1939 and from the University of North Dakota with a degree in civil engineering in 1948. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and was drafted into Civilian Public Service in 1942 from Crosby, North Dakota. His occupation at that time was listed as Civil Engineer/Student.

Oliver was selected to join the smokejumper unit in Montana in 1944. He jumped the 1944-45 seasons getting seven training and three fire jumps in the'44 season and three training and three fire jumps in the'45 season.

Oliver worked in New York City as an engineer on various construction projects before returning to the University of North Dakota to take an instructors position in mathematics and civil engineering in the 1970s. Oliver returned to the family farm and worked until retirement in 1997.