Otis, Ross 1921-2001

OTIS, MCMULLIN, HUGHES

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 3/7/2013 at 12:27:46

Hawarden Independent of Sep 6, 2001

Hawarden businessman, Otis, dies
Ross Otis, a fixture of the Hawarden business Community for many years, died Friday, Aug. 31 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. He was 80 years old. In 1953, Mr. Otis left his job with the Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha and moved to Hawarden to join his brother, Joseph, in the manufacturing of component parts for radio, radar and the television industry at Otis Radio. The company had recently merged with Coilcraft and Mr. Otis was the purchasing manager.

His brother resigned from the company in 1959 and Mr. Otis took over as president of the Hawarden division. He remained at the helm of the Hawarden office until his retirement in 1987 Ardis Baugus worked with him for 26 years and remembers him as a very pleasant and understanding boss who got along well with the employees. Following his retirement, he took a real pride in his yard.

He was meticulous with his cars and he enjoyed watching TV, especially science fiction. Roswell Curtis Otis III was born Jan. 22, 1921 in Casey,
Iowa to Roswell C. and Mildred (McMullin) Otis. When he was 2 years old, the family moved to Grinnell, Iowa where he attended elementary school.
They then moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa where he attended junior high and high school. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1939. He married Barbara Hughes on Aug. 8,1942 in Council Bluffs. Mr. Otis served four years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II, being signed for the duration to the Sacramento Signal Depot in Sacramento, Calif., where his wife joined him.

Mr. Otis was an active member of the Presbyterian Church, serving through the years as deacon, elder and on the board council. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, and past member of the Hawarden Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and a lifetime Republican serving on a presidential task force since 1980.

The funeral service for Mr. Otis was held Tuesday at the Associated Church in Hawarden with burial in the Grace Hill Cemetery. Masonic burial rites were conducted by the Akron Masonic Lodge and military rites by the
Hawarden American Legion.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Barbara; daughter, Cheryl Nicola, Grand Forks, N.D.; son, Scott, Devils Lake, N.D.; sister, Joan Maddy, Council Bluffs; seven grandchildren; and many nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson, Steven Nicola; brother, Joseph; sisters, Wilma Bonyata, Helen Thomas and Marguerite Mart.