On Dec. 15 Letha Otte passed away at Three Crowns Park, Evanston, Ill., surrounded by family and held by love. She was 96 years old.
Letha was born at home on the family farm near Lenexa, Johnson County, Kan. on Jan. 12, 1918. She was the fourth child of eleven, and the first daughter of Ora Floray and John Herman Blume.
Letha spent most of her childhood years on the farm, helping her Mom raise eleven children and learning to be a very good cook and baker. The family regularly attended church and were members at Salem Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Lenexa. Letha was confirmed and married in this church. It is here that she first began teaching Sunday school, a role she cherished and maintained throughout her life, creating lessons for young children for as long as she was able.
Letha attended Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg [Kansas], gaining her degree in Elementary Education. She taught elementary-age children, including her younger siblings, in rural Lenexa and Olathe, often in one-room schools. During World War II, however, she joined other women who became "Rosie the Riveters" supporting the war effort by working in a munitions factory in Kansas City, Kan.
It was on a trip to visit cousins living in the Clarinda area that Letha met Wendell Willis Otte. They began a courtship, loved dancing and each other, and eventually married upon his return from military service in the Pacific on April 28, 1945. After Wendell’s year of school in St. Louis, they settled at 408 East Tarkio in Clarinda, building a house there with the support of the GI Bill. In 1950, they exchanged homes with Wendell’s parents, moving to 714 North 15th Street, where they remained through their marriage of 59 years. Here they raised their four children: Janith Maureen [later: Claire Rose], Gwendolyn Gail, Randall Fredric, and Gaylord Wendell.
Letha’s found joy in expressing love in many ways: Being a mother and wife. Creating holiday costumes and decorations, making cookies and candies that she shared with everyone. Sewing everything for her family including dresses, coats, jackets, pants and blouses. Driving her children to lessons, band practices, sports events, church outings and sleep-overs. Being an inveterate photographer, leaving a legacy of thousands of family pictures and dozens of albums and movies. Writing weekly letters to distant children. Baking pecan rolls, especially when introducing newly-arrived international residents to American ways. Delighting in gardening and flowers.
Letha loved connecting with people and participating in Clarinda’s community life. She loved her adopted church, St. John Lutheran (LCMS), where she taught Sunday school, sang in the choir with Wendell, and participated in Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) Circles her entire adult life. She was a member of the Clarinda International Club, welcoming and sharing with people from many cultures. In middle age she learned to golf, enjoying leagues and tournaments as well as giving Wendell a run for his money on the links. Playing piano, listening to and singing hymns, and entertaining visitors brought comfort and delight to her later years. These things always made her smile.
Letha was preceded in death by her husband Wendell, parents Ora and John Blume, brothers Orville (the late Dorothy), Howard (the late Lucy), John (the late Irene), Donald, Raymond, Kenneth, and Glenn, nephew Gary Lingier, and by Wendell’s family: parents Alma and William Otte, Marie Otte Sump (the late Alfred).
Letha is survived by her children Janith (now: Claire Rose) of Oakland, Calif.; Gwen (David Edwards) of Anchorage, Al.; Randall (Peg) and Gaylord (Lynn) of Evanston, Ill. and by grandchildren Nicholas, Erin (Justin Johns), Caitlin, Gregory, Douglas, Jeffrey [Otte]; Patrick (Robin), Michael (Lizz), Lizabeth (Todd) and great-granddaughter Amanda [Murphy]. She is also survived by siblings Anna Jean Lingier, Eleanor Beene and Paul Blume (Jewel) and sisters-in-law Bernie, Edna and Vivian [Blume], as well as many nieces and nephews.
A committal service was held at the Clarinda Cemetery Dec. 22 with Rev. Claire Rose and Rev. Peg Otte officiating. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service was held following this at St. John’s Lutheran Church with Rev. Daryl Tompkins and Rev. Bob Schaedel officiating. Memorials are suggested to St. John’s Lutheran Church LWML or Nodaway Valley Historical Museum in Clarinda. Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel, Clarinda, provided arrangements.
Provided by Clarinda Herald-Journal - Clarinda, Iowa
Letha was born at home on the family farm near Lenexa, Johnson County, Kan. on Jan. 12, 1918. She was the fourth child of eleven, and the first daughter of Ora Floray and John Herman Blume.
Letha spent most of her childhood years on the farm, helping her Mom raise eleven children and learning to be a very good cook and baker. The family regularly attended church and were members at Salem Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Lenexa. Letha was confirmed and married in this church. It is here that she first began teaching Sunday school, a role she cherished and maintained throughout her life, creating lessons for young children for as long as she was able.
Letha attended Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg [Kansas], gaining her degree in Elementary Education. She taught elementary-age children, including her younger siblings, in rural Lenexa and Olathe, often in one-room schools. During World War II, however, she joined other women who became "Rosie the Riveters" supporting the war effort by working in a munitions factory in Kansas City, Kan.
It was on a trip to visit cousins living in the Clarinda area that Letha met Wendell Willis Otte. They began a courtship, loved dancing and each other, and eventually married upon his return from military service in the Pacific on April 28, 1945. After Wendell’s year of school in St. Louis, they settled at 408 East Tarkio in Clarinda, building a house there with the support of the GI Bill. In 1950, they exchanged homes with Wendell’s parents, moving to 714 North 15th Street, where they remained through their marriage of 59 years. Here they raised their four children: Janith Maureen [later: Claire Rose], Gwendolyn Gail, Randall Fredric, and Gaylord Wendell.
Letha’s found joy in expressing love in many ways: Being a mother and wife. Creating holiday costumes and decorations, making cookies and candies that she shared with everyone. Sewing everything for her family including dresses, coats, jackets, pants and blouses. Driving her children to lessons, band practices, sports events, church outings and sleep-overs. Being an inveterate photographer, leaving a legacy of thousands of family pictures and dozens of albums and movies. Writing weekly letters to distant children. Baking pecan rolls, especially when introducing newly-arrived international residents to American ways. Delighting in gardening and flowers.
Letha loved connecting with people and participating in Clarinda’s community life. She loved her adopted church, St. John Lutheran (LCMS), where she taught Sunday school, sang in the choir with Wendell, and participated in Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) Circles her entire adult life. She was a member of the Clarinda International Club, welcoming and sharing with people from many cultures. In middle age she learned to golf, enjoying leagues and tournaments as well as giving Wendell a run for his money on the links. Playing piano, listening to and singing hymns, and entertaining visitors brought comfort and delight to her later years. These things always made her smile.
Letha was preceded in death by her husband Wendell, parents Ora and John Blume, brothers Orville (the late Dorothy), Howard (the late Lucy), John (the late Irene), Donald, Raymond, Kenneth, and Glenn, nephew Gary Lingier, and by Wendell’s family: parents Alma and William Otte, Marie Otte Sump (the late Alfred).
Letha is survived by her children Janith (now: Claire Rose) of Oakland, Calif.; Gwen (David Edwards) of Anchorage, Al.; Randall (Peg) and Gaylord (Lynn) of Evanston, Ill. and by grandchildren Nicholas, Erin (Justin Johns), Caitlin, Gregory, Douglas, Jeffrey [Otte]; Patrick (Robin), Michael (Lizz), Lizabeth (Todd) and great-granddaughter Amanda [Murphy]. She is also survived by siblings Anna Jean Lingier, Eleanor Beene and Paul Blume (Jewel) and sisters-in-law Bernie, Edna and Vivian [Blume], as well as many nieces and nephews.
A committal service was held at the Clarinda Cemetery Dec. 22 with Rev. Claire Rose and Rev. Peg Otte officiating. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service was held following this at St. John’s Lutheran Church with Rev. Daryl Tompkins and Rev. Bob Schaedel officiating. Memorials are suggested to St. John’s Lutheran Church LWML or Nodaway Valley Historical Museum in Clarinda. Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel, Clarinda, provided arrangements.
Provided by Clarinda Herald-Journal - Clarinda, Iowa
On Dec. 15 Letha Otte passed away at Three Crowns Park, Evanston, Ill., surrounded by family and held by love. She was 96 years old.
Letha was born at home on the family farm near Lenexa, Johnson County, Kan. on Jan. 12, 1918. She was the fourth child of eleven, and the first daughter of Ora Floray and John Herman Blume.
Letha spent most of her childhood years on the farm, helping her Mom raise eleven children and learning to be a very good cook and baker. The family regularly attended church and were members at Salem Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Lenexa. Letha was confirmed and married in this church. It is here that she first began teaching Sunday school, a role she cherished and maintained throughout her life, creating lessons for young children for as long as she was able.
Letha attended Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg [Kansas], gaining her degree in Elementary Education. She taught elementary-age children, including her younger siblings, in rural Lenexa and Olathe, often in one-room schools. During World War II, however, she joined other women who became "Rosie the Riveters" supporting the war effort by working in a munitions factory in Kansas City, Kan.
It was on a trip to visit cousins living in the Clarinda area that Letha met Wendell Willis Otte. They began a courtship, loved dancing and each other, and eventually married upon his return from military service in the Pacific on April 28, 1945. After Wendell’s year of school in St. Louis, they settled at 408 East Tarkio in Clarinda, building a house there with the support of the GI Bill. In 1950, they exchanged homes with Wendell’s parents, moving to 714 North 15th Street, where they remained through their marriage of 59 years. Here they raised their four children: Janith Maureen [later: Claire Rose], Gwendolyn Gail, Randall Fredric, and Gaylord Wendell.
Letha’s found joy in expressing love in many ways: Being a mother and wife. Creating holiday costumes and decorations, making cookies and candies that she shared with everyone. Sewing everything for her family including dresses, coats, jackets, pants and blouses. Driving her children to lessons, band practices, sports events, church outings and sleep-overs. Being an inveterate photographer, leaving a legacy of thousands of family pictures and dozens of albums and movies. Writing weekly letters to distant children. Baking pecan rolls, especially when introducing newly-arrived international residents to American ways. Delighting in gardening and flowers.
Letha loved connecting with people and participating in Clarinda’s community life. She loved her adopted church, St. John Lutheran (LCMS), where she taught Sunday school, sang in the choir with Wendell, and participated in Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) Circles her entire adult life. She was a member of the Clarinda International Club, welcoming and sharing with people from many cultures. In middle age she learned to golf, enjoying leagues and tournaments as well as giving Wendell a run for his money on the links. Playing piano, listening to and singing hymns, and entertaining visitors brought comfort and delight to her later years. These things always made her smile.
Letha was preceded in death by her husband Wendell, parents Ora and John Blume, brothers Orville (the late Dorothy), Howard (the late Lucy), John (the late Irene), Donald, Raymond, Kenneth, and Glenn, nephew Gary Lingier, and by Wendell’s family: parents Alma and William Otte, Marie Otte Sump (the late Alfred).
Letha is survived by her children Janith (now: Claire Rose) of Oakland, Calif.; Gwen (David Edwards) of Anchorage, Al.; Randall (Peg) and Gaylord (Lynn) of Evanston, Ill. and by grandchildren Nicholas, Erin (Justin Johns), Caitlin, Gregory, Douglas, Jeffrey [Otte]; Patrick (Robin), Michael (Lizz), Lizabeth (Todd) and great-granddaughter Amanda [Murphy]. She is also survived by siblings Anna Jean Lingier, Eleanor Beene and Paul Blume (Jewel) and sisters-in-law Bernie, Edna and Vivian [Blume], as well as many nieces and nephews.
A committal service was held at the Clarinda Cemetery Dec. 22 with Rev. Claire Rose and Rev. Peg Otte officiating. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service was held following this at St. John’s Lutheran Church with Rev. Daryl Tompkins and Rev. Bob Schaedel officiating. Memorials are suggested to St. John’s Lutheran Church LWML or Nodaway Valley Historical Museum in Clarinda. Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel, Clarinda, provided arrangements.
Provided by Clarinda Herald-Journal - Clarinda, Iowa
Letha was born at home on the family farm near Lenexa, Johnson County, Kan. on Jan. 12, 1918. She was the fourth child of eleven, and the first daughter of Ora Floray and John Herman Blume.
Letha spent most of her childhood years on the farm, helping her Mom raise eleven children and learning to be a very good cook and baker. The family regularly attended church and were members at Salem Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Lenexa. Letha was confirmed and married in this church. It is here that she first began teaching Sunday school, a role she cherished and maintained throughout her life, creating lessons for young children for as long as she was able.
Letha attended Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg [Kansas], gaining her degree in Elementary Education. She taught elementary-age children, including her younger siblings, in rural Lenexa and Olathe, often in one-room schools. During World War II, however, she joined other women who became "Rosie the Riveters" supporting the war effort by working in a munitions factory in Kansas City, Kan.
It was on a trip to visit cousins living in the Clarinda area that Letha met Wendell Willis Otte. They began a courtship, loved dancing and each other, and eventually married upon his return from military service in the Pacific on April 28, 1945. After Wendell’s year of school in St. Louis, they settled at 408 East Tarkio in Clarinda, building a house there with the support of the GI Bill. In 1950, they exchanged homes with Wendell’s parents, moving to 714 North 15th Street, where they remained through their marriage of 59 years. Here they raised their four children: Janith Maureen [later: Claire Rose], Gwendolyn Gail, Randall Fredric, and Gaylord Wendell.
Letha’s found joy in expressing love in many ways: Being a mother and wife. Creating holiday costumes and decorations, making cookies and candies that she shared with everyone. Sewing everything for her family including dresses, coats, jackets, pants and blouses. Driving her children to lessons, band practices, sports events, church outings and sleep-overs. Being an inveterate photographer, leaving a legacy of thousands of family pictures and dozens of albums and movies. Writing weekly letters to distant children. Baking pecan rolls, especially when introducing newly-arrived international residents to American ways. Delighting in gardening and flowers.
Letha loved connecting with people and participating in Clarinda’s community life. She loved her adopted church, St. John Lutheran (LCMS), where she taught Sunday school, sang in the choir with Wendell, and participated in Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) Circles her entire adult life. She was a member of the Clarinda International Club, welcoming and sharing with people from many cultures. In middle age she learned to golf, enjoying leagues and tournaments as well as giving Wendell a run for his money on the links. Playing piano, listening to and singing hymns, and entertaining visitors brought comfort and delight to her later years. These things always made her smile.
Letha was preceded in death by her husband Wendell, parents Ora and John Blume, brothers Orville (the late Dorothy), Howard (the late Lucy), John (the late Irene), Donald, Raymond, Kenneth, and Glenn, nephew Gary Lingier, and by Wendell’s family: parents Alma and William Otte, Marie Otte Sump (the late Alfred).
Letha is survived by her children Janith (now: Claire Rose) of Oakland, Calif.; Gwen (David Edwards) of Anchorage, Al.; Randall (Peg) and Gaylord (Lynn) of Evanston, Ill. and by grandchildren Nicholas, Erin (Justin Johns), Caitlin, Gregory, Douglas, Jeffrey [Otte]; Patrick (Robin), Michael (Lizz), Lizabeth (Todd) and great-granddaughter Amanda [Murphy]. She is also survived by siblings Anna Jean Lingier, Eleanor Beene and Paul Blume (Jewel) and sisters-in-law Bernie, Edna and Vivian [Blume], as well as many nieces and nephews.
A committal service was held at the Clarinda Cemetery Dec. 22 with Rev. Claire Rose and Rev. Peg Otte officiating. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service was held following this at St. John’s Lutheran Church with Rev. Daryl Tompkins and Rev. Bob Schaedel officiating. Memorials are suggested to St. John’s Lutheran Church LWML or Nodaway Valley Historical Museum in Clarinda. Eickemeyer Funeral Chapel, Clarinda, provided arrangements.
Provided by Clarinda Herald-Journal - Clarinda, Iowa
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
