George A. Otto

will be from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, Tuesday, January 9, 2024, at Becker Funeral Home at 219

Kinderkamack Road in Westwood, NJ. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 am

on Wednesday, January 10, 2023, at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church at 2 Fremont

Avenue, Park Ridge, NJ. Burial will immediately follow at St. John’s Cemetery in Middle

Village at 80-01 Metropolitan Ave, Queens, NY. The pallbearers will be Richard Otto,

Charles Otto, and Bryant Menke. Honorary pallbearers are Michael Whitlock, Wilson

Whitlock, Jonathan Downing, and Peter Bowen. A live stream of the funeral will be

available at the following link: urolm.org/live-stream. Memorials are suggested to Our

Lady of Mercy Catholic Church.

George was born to George W. Otto and Victoire (Major) Otto in Cambridge, New York,

on March 17, 1934. He was the oldest of four children. He graduated from Sea Cliff

High School in 1952. He then attended college at Brown University in Providence, RI,

and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1957. After graduation, he enlisted

in the United States Air Force, where he was a Lieutenant and served honorably as a

pilot from 1957 to 1960. He married Sarah Taylor in Kearney, NE, in August 1963 and

later divorced; they had two children, Sally and Richard. George was bilingual in

English and Spanish and worked the last twenty years of his career as a Sales

Executive and Regional Manager at Mineria Pan Americana and Construccion Pan

Americana, Latin America's leading construction and mining publications. He also

worked at the New York Office of the Insurance Company of America in New York and

Lima, Peru, for many years.

George enjoyed spending time outdoors, doing yard work, fixing things, reading, and

listening to the radio. When he was younger, he traveled extensively and spent

countless hours sailing with family and friends. George was a member of the ROTC at

Brown University and an active Newman Club member. His Catholic faith was

important to him. He was a member of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church. George

also enjoyed his many years as an election worker, serving voters at the Bergan County

polls in New Jersey. He was an avid beekeeper for several decades and often shared

his fantastic honey with others.

George is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Sarah (Sally) Otto and Michael

Whitlock of Vancouver, Canada, and his son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Aimee

Otto of Alliance, Nebraska. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Wilson Whitlock

of Atlanta, GA; Margaret (Bryant) Menke of Omaha, NE; Josephine Otto of St. Louis,

MO; Lillian Otto of Omaha, NE; and Charles Otto of Lincoln, NE. Other survivors

include his sister, Judith Otto, of Manhattan, NY; Brother-in-Law, John McCarthy; two

nieces, Sheila (Andreas) Bastian-Steel and Suzanne Andersen, all of Switzerland; and

cousin Jonathan Downing of Hampton Bays, NY.

He is preceded in death by his parents, George W. Otto and Victoire (Major) Otto of Old

Brookville, Long Island, his sister, Mary McCarthy of Switzerland, and his brother Paul

of New York, NY.

Please visit www.becker-funeralhome.com to leave a tribute or message of

condolence. Becker Funeral Home in Westwood, NJ, is assisting the family with

arrangements.