Richard "Rick" Jon Otto

Rick was born August 29, 1946 in St. Cloud, Minnesota to Vincent and Phyllis Otto. Born in August in Minnesota, he soon felt the winter weather approach. At 4 months old, he convinced his parents that Minnesota was way too cold, and they had to move to the land of opportunity. His family packed up and moved to Southern California and purchased a walnut farm. About a billion walnuts later, his family moved further south and settled in San Diego, where he spent the rest of his childhood. He graduated from Grossmont High School in 1964 with a scholarship to James Hall College of Beauty. He loved the advantage of being one of only three guys in a program of about 75 girls. He never lacked for a date! After working as a cosmetologist for about 2 years, the war in Vietnam called and Rick was drafted into the Army. Starting out as a gunner on a 155 Howitzer at Ft. Carson, Colorado, he soon realized that there was a job in the Army that called to him loud and clear. He volunteered for the Military Police Academy at Ft. Gordon, Georgia. After graduation from the academy, he was reassigned to Ft. Carson’s 19th Military Police Co. and began his career as a Law Enforcement Officer. He started his career as a stockade guard. The barracks held 80 prisoners and had 2 MP's to control the chaos. He soon volunteered for Bar Patrol and that's where he found his niche’. He was eventually made liaison between the Colorado Springs PD and the Military Police presence in the city. His primary duties were walking/riding the beat, breaking up bar fights and pulling GI's out of “off-limits” bars. Living and working in Colorado Springs, only driving out to Ft. Carson twice a month to get paid, was the dream job. While living in Colorado Springs, he met and married Peggy Bailey.

After his Army duty was over, they moved back to San Diego and Michael Adrian was born in 1973. They divorced shortly after Michael’s birth and Rick enjoyed being a single father for three years. He fell in love with Michael’s daycare teacher DeeDee Casper. He married the love of his life on September 11, 1976 and they enjoyed 39 wonderful years together. They moved to Los Angeles and Rick began his career in the financial community. He worked for the brokerage firm of E.F. Hutton & Co. Inc. for 12 years and then moved to Dexter Securities as their Internal Auditor. Rick loved his job, but the hours were brutal. After visiting his sister in Idaho, he went back to work in LA and gave his notice. Two weeks later they arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho, with no place to live, no job, and their furniture arriving the next day. Rick made this move work and provided his family with a new home and life in Twin Falls. His second son, Steven Jon was born in 1982.

Rick never had a job that he didn't give 100%. He went to work as the Store Mgr. of Norco Welding, which compelled him to register and attend CSI to become a Certified Welder. He left that job to become an Eligibility Examiner with the Department of Health and Welfare. He transferred to the Child Support Enforcement Agency and spent 26 years with the child support division. It became the job he was most proud of. Most of those years were spent as a Paternity and Establishment expert. Rick was responsible for a major change in the way Idaho establishes paternity. He ran a pilot project using the Buccal Swab technique and DNA testing showing a huge increase in children ending up with biological fathers identified. His efforts in this matter resulted in Rick's project being mandated statewide. He is listed in a Washington DC publication called the Compendium of States Best Practices in May 1994. He was responsible for obtaining legal fathers for over 3,000 children in his career.

While Rick served the public as a State employee, he also desired to continue to serve in the Armed Forces again. He joined the Naval Reserve and was assigned to a Naval Intelligence Unit, training at the Alameda Air Station in California, being flown there monthly. He was trained as a photographic reconnaissance analyst.

Rick retired from the State of Idaho in July 2011. This allowed him to pursue his 2 passions: Golf and Photography. He was an avid golfer, spending as much time as Idaho weather and wind allowed. Rick enjoyed the arts, being someone who tinkered with the Blues Guitar, he was an avid artist painting landscapes in both oil and acrylic, and became a published photographer. Rick’s photos have captured the hearts of so many people and have earned awards including: the cover of the 2009-10 PMT local phonebook; photos in the 2013 edition of the "Oregon Coast Calendar;" and being featured in various non-profit healthcare facilities worldwide and most-recently his photo of the Perrine Bridge was placed in a cancer center in the Lismore Base Hospital in Australia. Rick was a member of Magic Valley Arts Council, the Full Moon Gallery, and his photographs have been displayed in many Magic Valley businesses. His love of all animals resulted in him serving 4 years on the Twin Falls Animal Shelter Advisory Commission. He was proud of helping establish and updating the animal welfare laws in Twin Falls. His retirement allowed the upkeep of his 9 bird feeders and squirrel feeder. He loved feeding peanuts to his backyard friends by hand.

Rick is preceded in death by his parents, Vince and Phyllis, and infant grandson Brady. He is survived by his beloved wife, DeeDee; two children, Michael (Stephanie) Otto and Steven (Sara) Otto. His grandchildren include Kari, Arianna, Traci, Madyson, Jacob, Kennedi, and Hesston. Many nieces and nephews and many other family members, all of whom he loved dearly.

A funeral with military honors will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11, 2015, at White’s Mortuary in Twin Falls, Idaho, viewing will be Friday, April 10 from 6-8 pm and at 1 pm prior to the funeral. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park following services. Visit www.whitemorutary.com to leave condolences.